By Makutu Manneh
The Local Government Commission of Inquiry on Monday questioned Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) Mayor, Talib Ahmed Bensouda, regarding the appointment of certain individuals to key council positions, some of whom were linked to his political campaign.
The inquiry focused on the appointments of Nduru Deen Adams as Protocol Officer and Isatou Faal as Public Relations Manager. Both were reported to have been actively involved in Mayor Bensouda’s campaign prior to joining the council.
Mayor Bensouda testified that upon assuming office, many individuals expressed interest in working at KMC. He said he verbally referred such requests to the Establishment Committee or the Human Resources Department, rather than making formal recommendations himself.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez confronted him with earlier testimony from Habib ML Ceesay, then-chairman of the Establishment Committee, who told the commission that the mayor had submitted a list of names for employment. Bensouda firmly denied this, describing the claim as “incorrect.”
“I remember 40 people came to my office who were part of the campaign wanting to work at KMC, and I referred them to either the chairman of the establishment committee or HR,” he said.
Counsel referenced the testimonies of Habib ML Ceesay and former Acting CEO Salama Njie, both of whom claimed that a memo from the mayor’s office had recommended the appointments in question.
Mayor Bensouda, however, maintained that when the individuals approached him for appointments, he merely referred them to the Establishment Committee or the Human Resources unit. He demanded that the alleged memo be presented to him, but counsel neither responded to his request nor produced the document.
The mayor was further pressed on possible conflicts of interest, given his close association with the appointees. He acknowledged that he would have liked to employ as many trusted individuals as possible, but stressed that the Establishment Committee insisted on following proper procedures.
“So you think it’s a coincidence that 3 or 4 people are employed without your influence?” Counsel Gomez asked.
Mayor Bensouda responded that he would not call it a coincidence but emphasized the scale: “It is four people out of 1200 staff. It is four people. I would have loved to bring many more people as part of my team who I trust and can rely on, but the fact of the matter is, I cannot. The most I can do is I can refer them to the right authorities, and those authorities can decide. But I can tell you for a fact, I am dissatisfied that I cannot come with my team. I would have loved to come with my full office.”
He explained to the commission that one of the challenges in politics is the reluctance to retain employees associated with political opponents.
“If I had it my way, I would personally ensure that all of those people are employed, but I can’t have that power as per the law; but nevertheless, Habib Ceesay, if you know him, he always demands that things go per the procedure. When I refer people to him, he will say they must go through the procedure, and he insists and makes sure they go through the procedure,” the mayor testified.
He added, “I had wished that I would have the power to come in and hire who I deemed fit at the time, but I could not, so I referred them to either Habib or Dembo Jah, the HR.”
The mayor maintained that the process was fair, though he admitted that advertising the positions would have been the most transparent approach to guarantee equal opportunities for all candidates.
Commission Chairperson Jainaba Bah reminded the mayor that by law, the Local Government Service Commission is responsible for appointments at certain grades. She pointed out that Faal’s appointment was not made by the Commission.
Mayor Bensouda responded that, at the time, no Local Government Service Commission existed. “I was the one who even brought it to the attention of the minister. He did not institute the local service commission till 2019, so during the period, only councils were doing the hiring,” he explained.
He further informed the chairperson that, at the time, the council did not have access to the scheme of service being used by the Personnel Management Office, and later discovered that the document had not been gazetted.
The mayor explained that this prompted the council to develop its own scheme of service, noting that “there was no Local Government Commission” in place at the time.
Addressing the matter of Babucarr Jammeh, his uncle, Mayor Bensouda clarified that Jammeh served in the council for less than a year. He said he personally called him into his office and asked him to resign.
“I told him, since he is my uncle, I would not like him to continue working for the council. I asked him to resign, and I employed him at my NGO,” Mayor Bensouda said.