By Makutu Manneh
The Local Government Commission of Inquiry questioned Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda on Thursday regarding the council’s ongoing engagement of private contractors for waste collection, despite having purchased waste collection trucks.
The mayor was reminded that in 2022, KMC continued to contract Lang Karamo Suwareh and Sons for the use of shovel loaders and trucks to clean dumpsters.
In response, Mayor Bensouda explained that contractors are still engaged for gutter clearing because the council does not own shovel loaders. He said, “I assume if there is illegal dumping, they need to hire a shovel loader.”
Counsel Gomez pressed the mayor, noting that while the council may lack shovel loaders, it has purchased trucks.
Mayor Bensouda clarified, “Yes, the trucks we have are compactors, skip trucks, and septic emptiers. They cannot clear illegal dumpsites. To clear an illegal dumpsite, you need a shovel loader and open trucks, or what we call them, dumper trucks. So in 2023, we purchased three dumper trucks.”
The discussion then turned to the procurement process in hiring contractors. Counsel Gomez informed the mayor that Lang Karamo Suwareh and Sons testified before the commission, admitting they do not own any machinery and hire equipment as needed when contracted by the council.
Mayor Bensouda responded that Lang Karamo Suwareh and Sons had been working with the council before his tenure and had an existing relationship with the administration, “so I believe they thought he was reliable.”
He further explained that the council works with two types of contractors: those who own equipment and those who coordinate the work.
However, the mayor stated his preference for the council’s internal unit to handle coordination, adding that these are management matters decided by the council on how to outsource services.