Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Talib Bensouda As the UDP Flagbearer for 2026 Is No Threat To NPP
A Response to Political Marketing Disguised
As Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda officially declares his ambition to become the UDP Flagbearer for the 2026 Presidential Elections, we must not allow eloquent speeches and curated press statements to blur the hard truths. For nine years, Bensouda has held the reins of the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) — and if leadership is measured by impact, then his record deserves real, unsentimental scrutiny.
1. Proven Leadership? Or Decorative Politics?
Twice elected does not mean twice effective. Beyond the flower buckets at Westfield Junction — symbols of cosmetic urbanism — what tangible development can Mayor Bensouda truly boast of?
Serekunda continues to flood every rainy season, with no effective drainage or water management strategy.
Markets reek of uncollected garbage, unregulated sanitation, and health hazards.
Feeder roads and neighborhood streets are left impassable during rains, turning daily commutes into survival missions.
This is not a legacy of transformation. It's a resume of inaction.
2. Accountability & Integrity? Let’s Look Again.
Team Bensouda brags about integrity — yet the Local Government Commission of Inquiry uncovered clear patterns of mismanagement, abuse of office, and irregular procurement practices at the KMC under his leadership.
Evading legal consequences doesn't mean being clean — it only means the system is still maturing. Gambians aren’t naïve anymore. The days of hiding behind soft PR are over.
3. Development-Oriented? Or Optics-Obsessed?
Waste management and urban renewal may sound impressive — but how many communities in the Kanifing Municipality actually feel the impact?
Ask Bundung. Ask Ebo Town. Ask London Corner. They live with garbage, crumbling roads, and poor drainage. The flashy headlines never make it to their doorsteps.
The so-called development under Bensouda is piecemeal, selective, and mostly designed for photo ops, not long-term change.
A Candidate Controlled by Shadows
Mayor Bensouda’s campaign is not about vision. It's about veneer. He is surrounded by political amateurs, backed by self-seekers, and controlled by backroom mafias who see him as an easy puppet.
He is not leading a movement — he’s fronting for people who are too afraid or too unqualified to show their faces.
The Real Solution? It’s Not UDP or Talib Bensouda.
Both Talib Bensouda and the UDP offer no solutions for Gambia’s future. They represent a recycled opposition with no fresh ideas, no national vision, and no grassroots record of delivery.
The only real solution is the continued leadership of President Adama Barrow and the NPP Government.
In just nine years, President Barrow has transformed The Gambia in ways that are undeniable:
Massive infrastructure development: Roads, bridges, ports, and energy systems expanding across the country.
Modernized agriculture: Mechanized farming inputs and nationwide distribution networks boosting food security.
National electricity coverage: From towns to rural communities, light is reaching where darkness once ruled.
Education & healthcare investments: New schools, upgraded hospitals, and access to quality services.
Digital governance & taxation systems: Increasing transparency and efficiency in public finance.
These are not promises. They are visible, measurable, and ongoing realities — the kind of development The Gambia needs.
Conclusion
Leadership is not about lofty speeches or decorative projects. It’s about nation-building — brick by brick, policy by policy, village by village.
Mayor Talib Bensouda has failed to transform the Kanifing Municipality — how then can he be trusted to transform a nation?
The Gambia cannot gamble its future on controlled candidates or recycled parties. The momentum for progress is already underway — and it is President Barrow and the NPP who are delivering it.
Let’s build on real achievements — not PR experiments.
By Yaya Dampha.
NPP Diaspora Coordinator
Sweden
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