Gallas Ceesay Jr.
By Seedy Jobe
A nominated councilor at the Banjul City Council, Gallas Ceesay Jr., has accused the city’s leadership of financial mismanagement, lack of transparency, and efforts to marginalize elected and nominated councilors, deepening what he described as a long-simmering rift within the council.
In remarks during a recent appearance on Sunu Reww, a current affairs program on Eye Africa TV, Mr. Ceesay said disputes within the council had intensified following the implementation of a cleansing project funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. His allegations, which he characterized as an “open secret” at City Hall, raise questions about governance practices and oversight at the capital’s municipal authority.
The project at the center of the controversy was supported by a $50,000 grant awarded to the council in 2024. Mr. Ceesay said he was initially appointed to coordinate the initiative and had agreed that all workers involved — about 80 in total — would receive equal compensation.
“I agreed that across the board, myself and others would all receive the same amount of money,” he said, describing the arrangement as a matter of principle.
According to Mr. Ceesay, tensions emerged when additional funding — which he said amounted to three times the original grant — was introduced. He alleged that the money was no longer being directed toward sanitation activities or improving the conditions of workers, but instead toward other projects associated with the donor.
“But what we first saw was that money wouldn’t be used for cleaning, but rather for other projects Bloomberg is running,” he said. He added that these concerns ultimately led him to withdraw from the project, fueling broader dissatisfaction among council members.
He said the apparent redirection of funds prompted him to withdraw from the project and deepened a sense of frustration among other councilors.
Tensions intensified during an emergency general council meeting convened to approve five million dalasis for sanitation work in Banjul. Mr. Ceesay, a nominated councilor who attended the meeting, said he believed the outcome had been predetermined. He said councilors were initially told they would take a leading role in the initiative, only to find themselves sidelined.
“We aren’t against anything, what we are against is you taking five million, and out of that five million, you already received one million and excluded all the councilors,” Ceesay said.
The tensions intensified, Mr. Ceesay said, when councilors sought explanations from the office of the chief executive officer, only to be referred instead to the mayor’s office. He cited Sections 29 and 30 of the Local Government Act, emphasizing that the chief executive officer bears fiduciary responsibility for the oversight and regulation of council spending.
Mr. Ceesay also faulted the council’s leadership for failing to convene a general council meeting since Nov. 10, 2025, a lapse he said was particularly troubling in the aftermath of the devastating fire at the Banjul market.
“If Banjul market is burned, and the council owns it… There is no other thing that is big enough to call an emergency general council meeting than this,” he said, expressing profound disappointment at the inaction.
In another disclosure, Mr. Ceesay said he had written to the foreign affairs section of the United States Embassy concerning a twinning program between Banjul and North Miami. He alleged that travel opportunities linked to the program were being used to influence councilors.
“We wrote to the foreign office of the American embassy. We told them that this is what is happening in the Banjul City Council. They want to use this to entice councilors, to tell them if you are part of this, you will go to America, and this is not what you are known for.”
He said the issue was not about travel itself, but about accountability. “It’s not about a traveling issue,” he said. “It’s about redirecting the funds of Banjulians to where they actually belong.”
Mr. Ceesay framed his stance as part of a broader commitment to civic activism rather than political advancement. “My representation in the council is bigger than being a political head. I stand for equality and a just society.”
He warned that continued delays in convening the council and addressing financial concerns could invite external scrutiny in the future, and he urged the council’s leadership to act before Feb. 10, a date he said would mark a breach of rules if no general meeting is held.
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