(JollofNews)- I wish to hereby submit to the Councilors of the Kanifing Municipal Council to act on Section 20 of the Local Government Act to start the process of removal of Mayor Yankuba Kolley.
The section provides that a mayor can be removed for abuse of office, corruption, misconduct or physical or mental incapacity to discharge his functions. To initiate the process, the section says at least two-thirds of the Councilors must write and sign a notice to the Deputy Mayor stating why they wish to remove the Mayor.
Within 24 hours of receiving the notice the Deputy Mayor should send a copy of the notice to the Minister for Regional Administration. Upon receiving the notice, the Minister shall suspend the Mayor and then set up a commission of enquiry to investigate the allegations. If the commission found that the allegations are true, the Minister will report the findings to the President to sack the mayor.
Therefore the case against Yankuba Kolley is overwhelming. In the first place, he does not account for the revenue that the KMC generates. There is no transparency and accountability at KMC. KMC has not provided the necessary quality and efficient social services to its residents. In 2014 KMC sold land in Kololi to a private company for 20 million dalasi without the knowledge of the residents or account for the money.
In 2015, KMC entered into a contract with an Italian company for the clearing of Bakoteh dumpsite for 2.2 million euros yet until today nothing was done on that site. There is refuse all over KMC, which are not collected even though businesses and compounds pay rates and taxes to KMC. Yankuba Kolley had turned KMC into a political party headquarters for APRC and then spent KMC public resources in the business and activities of the APRC. These are therefore acts of corruption, abuse of office and misconduct.
The task now is for the residents of Kanifing Municipality to demand their Ward Councilors to convene an emergency meeting on Monday July 10 to write and sign a notice to the Deputy Mayor for the removal of the Mayor Yankuba Kolley.
I therefore call on all KMC residents to begin the call on our Councilors from tonight. Failure to do so means we are therefore responsible for the mismanagement of KMC and the hardships we face because of a corrupt and useless Mayor and Council. This is our right and duty to our country and ourselves and we must not allow ever again any public institution and public officer to bastardise the rights and lives and resources of the people for free.
Let us rise up to create a New Gambia. Politicians do not act unless the people act. Nothing will change in KMC and the Gambia so long as citizens remain dormant, silent and disorganized. Let us raise our voices and organize to demand the protection of our rights and the fulfillment of our needs.
We have paid for it with our taxes and our lives and we must not allow one single individual or a group of people trample upon our heads. The President or the Speaker or the Mayor or Ministers are our Servants and if they do not serve us, we must not waste time in removing them. This is our democratic right and duty that all citizens have.
Remove the Mayor of KMC Yankuba Kolley today. Let the residents of Banjul also get up to address the mismanagement and inefficiency in Banjul under Mayor Abdoulie Bah. Let our citizens in the regions also rise up to demand accountability and an end to corruption and inefficiency by our Chairpersons in Brikama, Mansa Konko, Kerewan, Janjanbureh and Basse. No more corrupt and useless local government institutions and public servants abusing our rights and failing our needs. The law is on our side.
God Bless The Gambia.
Thanks so much that an a good idea you bring out. Any body no work for the peoples let him or her out. We need hard worker to the Gambia.
We need to see our slife in the nation of our land the Gambia.
I think the case of Mayor Kolley and all APRC dominated and run councils, just shows how inadequate systems of governments can be, even democracy itself, perhaps, the greatest of systems.
Though APRC has fallen out of favour with the electorate, it is still very much in power, as it controls all councils, through election results that no longer reflect the public mood in the country. Is this right?
If the process of removing the mayor from office is dependent on a signed petition by councillors, then the idea of removing mayor Kolley is a far fetched one, unfortunately, as those councillors are his very own party members, who would never do such a thing.
We, therefore, need to think about how to remedy this weakness in our system, as we build and consolidate our democracy, because when “legality” (what is legal) becomes “immoral”, then a society like ours, which is supposed to be built on the basic principles of religious and/or cultural morality and values, must find a way to ensure that this does not become normalised and the norm in future.
Mayor Kolley and his pals in local councils all over the country may have won elections, but the mood then does not reflect the current one, as recent Presidential and Assembly Elections have shown.
Is it morally right therefore, that a party that has been rejected at National Elections throughout the country, except Foni, still continue to run Local Governments, working with a Central Government that they oppose and probably want to see fail?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think so.
Let Colley run his course and be deposed at the next mayoral election- provided no criminal activities that would argue for his legal removal, comes to fore till then.
I don’t see any paradox in having aprc councillors in the country, in majority. The election circle make such a situation possible. It is neither a anomaly, for in normal political dispensations, election calendar of different levels of govt do not always concur and thus you have different majorities until a subsequent election corrects the imbalance – relative to public mood and leaning. Examples include the the French presidential and legislative election circles. Or Gambia’s pre-april 2017 legislative body.
Why would you want to antagonise the APRC supporters and give them a reason to protest. You cannot force democracy, it must be embraced. This must be a decision for or against by the open vote.
A READER MAKES A CASE FOR KANIFING MUNICIPALITY AND ITS NAYOR AND COUNCILORS:
My thoughts tell me that there is more to the Story of “Mayor Yankuba Colley Must Go” than meets the Eye, even by Madi Jobarteh who I find for the most part to balanced in his Narratives as well as Take on Matters of Concern to The Gambia and Gambians. However, I must take an Exception to his Misdirect and Displaced Blame on this Issue that he has been a Passionate Advocate. The Blame Falls right on Mai Fatty of the Interior Minister and his Collaborator, the Minister of the Environment’s feet like a ripe Mango in the rainy season. By all accounts, Kanifing Municipality nor its Mayor Yankuba Colley did not Close or Band the Dumping of Trash at the Bakoteh Dump Site
That Order or Directive with all Probability came from Interior Minister to the Environment’s without a well Planned Alternative or Logistics. This is move is Calculated to Set up the Municipality and Mayor as the Culprits, or it is another Sad Manifestation of Cross Incompetence and Negligence on the Part of the aforementioned Ministries and their Portfolio Holders. I Submit, it is both. There are Legal ways to Remove a Mayor from Office. The legal way that is not through Zembo (by Force or Power), is through a Recall or Removal Petition Due to Gross Negligence, Dereliction of Duty, Malfeasance Such as Corruption and Corruptive Practices While in Office. If Gambia does not have such Mechanisms in place at the Municipality Level, then this would not Qualify as Dereliction of duty by the Politician or Mayor perceived “Wanting” in carrying out his Duty”. ITEM: The Said Municipality must be an Incorporated One with Defined Boundaries, By-laws and Ordinances. The By-laws and Ordinances Must State in an Unambiguous and Clearly Defined Terms of Reference how an Official (s) of such an Incoporated Municipality can be removed from Office. It is Not Enough to have Members of the Municipality Vote to Remove a Member of such a Council. He is a Duely Elected Official and as such may be Reprimanded by his Colleagues, or even Sanctioned if the By-laws and Ordinances Stipulate. Again, he may Not be Removed by Simply having Members of a Council, some of who may have been Appointed, Vote to Remove an Elected Member. I Submit that, even in a “Gambia of Mob Rule” and “Zembo” that would be not only be Unlawful, but Set a Dangerous Precedent both legally and Politically. The Normal Procedure is through Petitions. That is, if the By-laws and Ordinances Stipulate. The By-laws and Ordinances Must Stipulate and Mandate a Minimum Number of Voters Sign a Petition Recalling a Duely Elected Municipal Official such as a Mayor Before He or She can be Removed From Office. The Minimum Number of Voters Must Have Resided in the Municipality for a Minimum of Six Months on a Continuous Basis and have a Fixed Address to Sign SAID Petition. The Maximum number of Petitioners who Signed the Petition is Based on an a Statistically Significant number of Voters Proportionate to the Total number of Registered Voters in the Incorporated Municipality Signing the Petition at the time of the Petition to Recall or Remove the Mayor. For example, if Kanifing Municipality is 100,000 in Population and it has a Registered Voter Roster of 60, 000. Then depending on the Municipality’s Stipulation in its By-laws, at least 30,000 Voters Must Sign the Petition. 30,000 being about One third of the Residents of the Municipality of 100,000 Residents. This is an example. ITEM: In the event that the Petitioners Collect the Stipulated Number of Signatures within a Mandated and or Stipulated Time Frame (It cannot be Open-Ended), the Next Task is the Mandated and or Required VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF ALL PETITION PAPERS AND SIGNATURES TO CERTIFY THAT THEY ARE INDEED NOT FRAUDULENT SIGNATURES COPIED BY HIRED HANDS TO DO THE ILEGAL AND UNDEMOCRATIC DEED. The Respondent, in this case the Mayor has the Right to Challenge the Validity as well as the Accuracy of the Petitioners’ Signatures. He or She can Challenge All or Parts of the Signatures, on Various grounds. For example, Doublicate names, Unreadable, Addresses and Signatures, Non-Existing and or Verifiable Persons and Addresses listed, Residents Not verifiable, Lack of Residency Requirement, the Use of Existing Rosters and Copying from it and getting Paid or Volunteers to append Signatures and Addresses on the Rosters are all illegal and Criminal Offenses Punishisable for up to Six Months to Five Years Jail Terms and a Steep Fine or Both. Warning, the Costs of all of Petition is the Petitioners, Win or Lose. While the Respondent and his or her Team are legally Protected to remain Unmolested in anyway or Form and are Free to Continue on with the Business of the Municipality until the Outcome of the Petition is arrived at within the Mandated Time Frame of the Petition. The Mayor must be Fully Compensated his or her Salary and in many Cases, if the Petitioners fail to Achieve the Mandated Signatures, and the Mayor had to hire a Lawyer to Defend him or her during the Process, the Lawyer’s Fees are Reimbursed or Paid by the Petitioners. This is to Prevent Capricious and Frivilous Attempts to Remove or Engage in Ilegal Personal and Politically Motivated Vendata Against Ones Opponents Without Cause. That then brings us to how I began the Article or Posting. I said that the Out Burst, “Mayor Yankuba Colley of Kanifing Municipality Must Go” is not about Sanitation, the Environment or even Yankuba Colley as an Individual. It is more than that. Most Honest and Sincere Gambians know that. How can a Government in Collusion with an Anti-Mayor Yankuba Colley and APRC UDP SUPPORTERS FORCE TO CLOSE THE TRASH DUMPING FACILITY DUE TO LEGITIMATE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS WITHOUT A WELL PLANNED AND ADEQUATELY FUNDED TEMPORARY MEASURES TO ADDRESS THE EMERGENCY, AND YET POINT THE FINGER AT THE AT THE COLLERTERAL VICTIM, THE KANIFING MUNICIPALITY AND MAYOR COLLEY? The Authorities who Closed the Trash Dumping Facility are the Culprits, Not the Mayor. Mai Fatty is trying to “Have his Cake and Eat it too”, while Punishing the Residents of Serekunda, Bakoteh, Environ like Yaya used to in Areas APRC is not Supported in Substantial numbers. With One Stone, Mai Fatty, the Interior Minister with Stealth and Fiat Co-opted the Minister of Environment to do his “Dirty Work” for him by Closing Down the Only Trash Collection Site in this Area, while withholding the Funding, Logistics and Equipment Required to Get the Job Done by Mayor Yankuba Colley. If Mai Fatty was the Mayor of Kanifing Municipality and his Family and Relatives reside in the the Areas Affected, would he accept such a situation to Pass, if Yankuba Colley was the Minister of Interior? Would the Lawless Mob Rule the Day by Illegally and Criminally Dumping Trash and who knows what at the Kanifing Municipality and or the Mayor’s Office? Taxes Collected are Not Kept by Yankuba Colley or the Kanifing Municipality. It goes to Mai Fatty’s Ministry. At least that is how it was Previously. Mai Fatty and his Ministry has the Purse Strings or Key to the Money and Solution to the Issue, but as usual Gambians are being led to the Abyss by Politically and Ethnic Motivated Vendata Against any and all APRC SUPPORTERS and Certain Ethnic Group, the Jola Politicians and Leaders in an Insidiously Calculated Move to Marginalize, Purge and Cleanse them from the Top Civil Service Positions. Mr. Colley reports that the Municipality’s Accounts or Books were Audited and Found to be in good order. No fraudulent activity. He said that he is Operating with the Lowest Budget considering Kanifing Municipality is the Single Largest Municipality in the Gambia. Why? At least up to the time of writing, Mai Fatty did not see it a Necessity to Respond to Mayor Yankuba Colley’s reported Statements to Freedom News. He has requested for help from the Minister of the Interior, Mai Fatty, only to Receive a response of Finger pointing and Blame game of which we are becoming accustomed to from Mai Fatty. To Placate UDP LED AGITATORS WHO PERCEIVE THE “NEW GAMBIA” AS BEING A GAMBIA FOR UDP SUPPORTERS AND ALL OTHERS ESPECIALLY, JOLA AND THOSE WHO SUPPORT OTHER PARTYS AS NOT TRUE GAMBIANS OR YAYA JAMMEH “ENABLERS” TO BE TREATED WITH CONTEMPT OR WORST. This is Dangerous and Not Sustainable in the Long Term. It is a Replay and Reproduction of what the “New Gambian” Democracy is Supposed to have Buried. To many Honest and Rational thinking Gambians, its like the More things Change, the More they Seemed to be a Mere Opposite of the Same Coin. Not Much Changes. Tail or Head, the Gambians Keep being the Loosers. When will it End. Gambian lives are being Played with again like “Nero fiddling while Rome Burned”. The Trash Dumped at Kanifing Municipality’s Mayor’s Office Rightly Should have been Dumped at either the Ministry of the Interior or that of the Environment, Not Kanifing Municipality’s Mayor’s Office. They are the Prey being “Hunted down for the Kill” and the COLLERTERAL VICTIMS and DAMAGE IS EVERY GAMBIAN WHETHER YOU ARE SEREKUNDA, BAKOTEH RESIDENT OR NOT. GOVERNANCE BY PLACATING AN INTEREST GROUP FOR POLITICAL, ETHNIC AND FOR PERSONAL REVENGE IS ETHICALLY, MORALLY AND CONSTITUTIONALLY REPUGNANT. TO THE EXTEND THAT I HAVE OFFENDED ANYONE WITHOUT REASONABLE CAUSE, I PLEA NO CONTEST AND ASK FOR YOUR COLLECTIVE FORGIVENESS. PLEASE, END GOVERNANCE BY SUBTERFUGE AND FIAT.
Sidi Bojang
People are tired of these insidious tribalist bigotry from your confused mind. Why do you always come out with all guns blazing any time the blame is on the door steps of the Colleys, Badgies, Jammehs, Jattas and the likes? How can you deflected this blame on to Mai Fatty with no shred of evidence to back your claim. To falsely accused somebody without evidence is also ethically, morally and constitutionally repugnant. Practice what you preach or i will call you a hypocrite.
God bless our beloved nation.
The issue of disposition of the waste due to the site for processing seems to be the major problem here…
The corruption issues can be addressed separately by accounting KMC activities, programs, budgets & finances; as well as the revenues collections &/ generations…
The author seems to have genuine points, & can be useful in his call only if he’s prepared to substantiate & hand in for genuine scrutiny of the “untenable” inability of KMC mayor; if not, only mayoral election shall be opportunity for replacement…
On the overall outlook, an environmentally friendly waste processing & regeneration site have to be identified & provided the processing plants required…
The current Bakoteh dump site isn’t, won’t & can’t be that solution whether temporarily &/ for the foreseeable future due to the health implications for the inhabitants &/ the general public as due to the location of the site…
The opposition politicians alone mustn’t to blame when on issues of collective attention, actions &/ remedy…
Sidi. BOjang,
Running cover behind tribal persecution in the case of Colley is simplistic. Colley, Bolong bili Jammeh, Badgie-brothers, were the architects of Jola hegemony in the Gambia. So in that field no sympathy for Mayor Colley. He got what he planted. Among his mischief was to rename Sayerr Jobe road to his own name with the grace of Bolong-Bili and mostly likely embezzled millions on behalf of Jammeh. Your wildly beating bush about what it would take to remove Mayor Colley is irrelevant and would never be followed. Mayor Colley is tarnished finished politically and should just resign his post. Otherwise, as already said he should just sit there and wait his forgone removal at the end of his current term. For the greater good of KMC, he should resign now and allow a fresh start.
My my point is made Partially and in Whole. The more things Appear to Change, the more they Remain the Same. We are Steadily and with Delibrate Speed Marching toward an another Intolerant, Inward looking Ethnic Group Based Politics and Governance. Regionalism “Majoritism” and Mob Rule is being Celebrated with Praise Songs of “Gambia is “Ours”, “Do as We Say, Want and Dictate” or we the “Majority” Shall Malign, Character assassinate, and Purge all those who Differ or Dare Voice a Dissenting Voice. Until Reason and Fact, Coupled with a Sense of “my neighbor is my keeper” and not my enemy, is Imbibed and Encouraged, I Fear for Our Collective Beloveth Gambia. Let’s not revert back to the old “Bantaba” of “Us against them” Mentality. I Pray and Hope, Allah/God would lead us to an Open Wide Common Good and Close our Awakened Fear and Distrust Eating away at our Social Fabric. Most Reactionary Statements and Actions are Born Out of Fear of the Unknown, Past and Present Unfulfilled Needs that Breeds Contempt and Suspicion. There is a Void and Vacuum in Gambian Society and Politics of the Current Era. That is to say, those who are Cable and Able to Lead, are not in Power, and those in Power are for the most part with the Exception of a Few Politicians are not Temprementally Fit to Lead. They are too Divisive and too Invested in Retributive Politics and less on Restorative and
Inclusive Politics to be Capable of Sustainable and Therapeutic Leadership. Leadership that is Calm, Steady and Heals. The Emergence of a Particular Type of Political Leadership, is usually a Manifestation and State of Affairs within a Nation State. Extremists and Nativistic Pandering Politicians are as a Result of Insecurity and Uncertainty either from a Micro or Macro Level. That is, fromvthe Individual vs. the Group. However, the Same Fuel that Feeds and Fans such Politics and Governance, is what Consumes it in the End. The Public needs to Endeavor to be Dispassionate and informed about Political Psychology through which Insidious, Manipulative Incitment Prone Politicians, Who feed on Conflict and Division, Galvanize the Public for the Worst. We, Gambians Need to Develop Thick Skin and Tolerance of those we Disagree With without Insults, Threats or even Violence. Violence begets Violence and Tolerance Breeds Peace and Tranquility. Let us Listen and Hear Each Other Out Without Resorting to Name Calling and Character Assassination. Why can’t we Discuss and Debate an Issue of Concern or Importance to All Gambians and Gambia Without a Declaration of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD). My Position is not usually Popular Among those in Power. I would rather Affilict the Unaffilicted and Confortable, and Spare the Affilicted. Their Cup Runneth Over. My Disposition Cannot Permit me to Side with the Bully to Beat on the Bullied. This Philosophy cannot be considered as Static and Inflexible. The Bullied may another day be the Bully, while the Reverse can also be True. Conversely, my Support has Not and will not be One-sided. I have written in favor of Mai Fatty and Ousainou Darbo when Warranted. I have also Critized Yaya Jammeh when and where I conclude it is what is needed. Even during the Inpass. I am not going to Critize for Critizing Sake. At the same time, I will and would not be Silenced by the Detractors and Nay Sayers who Pander or Praise Sing and Dance to Fill their Wallets or for a Job. I understand that there is a need for Jobs and Contracts. That in itself is not a bad thing. If it is Transparent, based on the best Qualified or the Lowest Bidder. It is however, Unacceptable and Wrong, if it is not Based on the above. Then, again these are my Thoughts and Words, Not Deeds as a Politician but a Citizen of two Worlds, but yet One. Gambia is More than the Sum Total of One Ethnic Group or Region. One People, One Destiny.
With regards the bakoteh dumping site issuers.I think we should blame all the
Mayors of Jawara’s regime and Jammehs regime.If they have done their job correctly,by now this dumping site will be a thing of the past.But They fails us doing amassing tax payers money without doing anything to this place.I hope barrows government can have an alternative place to this place.Let be patience Gambians
An industrial waste and refuse mamagement system must be put in place. Not only for KMC BUT for the whole country. A combustor plant be created on the site. The incinerators will burn the refuse and the smoke will be filtered before being let into the atmosphere. At a later stage, you can even start sorting out the refuse for recycling purpose. It is feasible in the Gambia and the payback time will be short if managed properly. That is the way forward for a increasingly producing and especially consuming country like ours.
Exactly, its an age old problem that previous governments have not solved and I think the biggest culprit is the PPP, who did virtually nothing worthy of note, in the area of waste management for 30 years.
The British did give you an incinerator to fire up all that cocaine. Jammeh did stop plastic bags but then filled your bodies with sugar and carbohydrates. Maybe you should look at what you’re importing that fills landfills. With bigger docks and imports on the rise, the world will continue to dump its used and second hands more and more,on you. While it takes your hard earned food at knock down bargain prices.
Eat what you grow and burn what you throw. Then you can have all the electricity you need.
A biomass plant with a difference.
It is cheaper to ship second hand fridges and washing machines and second hand tyres and toxic waste to Africa, than it is to dispose of safely here in the UK. Gambia needs to take a close look at what it imports and why it needs to expand its docks to accommodate it.
False economy.