By Seedy Jobe
Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for a major expansion of the Bakoteh Fish Market, a project intended to ease congestion and bring hundreds of street vendors into a formal, regulated space—while also delivering a broader message about the kind of leadership he says local government requires.
“Leaders must have a character that brings them down to earth,” Mr. Bensouda said at the ceremony, singling out Councilor Lamin Jammeh for his hands-on engagement with market women and advocacy on their behalf.
The expansion, one of the Kanifing Municipal Council’s most significant market investments in recent years, is designed to address chronic overcrowding and the spread of informal street trading around Bakoteh, one of the country’s busiest fish markets. The first phase of the project will add 3,745.16 square meters of new space and is expected to accommodate hundreds of vendors currently operating outside the market.
Mr. Bensouda acknowledged the daily pressures faced by traders who rely on the market to support their families, arguing that enforcement alone cannot solve the problem. “Removing or chasing away a vendor who is struggling to feed their family is too difficult for a leader,” he said. “That is why we must create space and empower the market.”
The initial phase of construction is projected to cost about D4.4 million. According to the mayor, the council has already committed D3 million, with an additional D1.5 million pledged to support completion of the works. The funding, he said, reflects the council’s intention to move street vendors into legitimate stalls rather than push them further into precarity.
Mr. Bensouda also raised concerns about the market’s ice plant, a critical facility for fish preservation. “If the selling of ice isn’t working, then it means one leg of the market has been cut off,” he said, adding that he had instructed Councilor Jammeh and the council’s chief executive officer to begin immediate efforts to restore the facility.
In a statement later posted on his official Facebook page, the mayor described the project as a turning point for Bakoteh. “Today I lay the foundation stone for the expansion of Bakoteh Fish Market,” he wrote, “to create an extra 3,745.16 square meters of area, which will create space for hundreds of vendors.”
The event drew senior municipal officials, including Deputy Mayor Binta Janneh Jallow and the council’s chief executive, Pa Sait Ceesay. Mr. Bensouda also praised the newly appointed market manager, Famara Jarjue, citing improvements in cleanliness and renewed engagement with vendors as early signs of progress.
For traders at Bakoteh, the expansion promises not only more space but a measure of stability—an effort, as the mayor framed it, to align development with dignity.
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