By Aji Fatou Jammeh
The Lord Mayor of Kanifing Municipality , Talib Ahmed Bensouda last week presided over the official opening of the first phase of the newly completed Latrikunda Sabiji Market Expansion project. In addition to the original 72, the newly expanded market has 100 new shops.
Authroties say that the Latrikunda Sabiji Market Expansion is a new model of market construction via a novel financial concept through joint funding with vendors. The concept seeks to replace and modernise all 350 original vendor spaces in the market which are disorganised and sprawling, with a standard organised system of construction and planning using standard materials.
This innovative system once fully tested in Latrikunda Sabiji will be used to standardise and replace all old vendor spaces in all of KM’s 19 markets.
In addition, Mayor Bensouda handed over 100 bins to KM’s regional tailoring association for their members’ businesses.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mayor Bensouda assured the residents of KM of more projects that will improve their lives and livelihoods.
He highlighted KMC’s five major projects, such as Kanifing Municipal Markets (KMM), which he said will develop 7 new markets over 5 years with over 1000 new vendor spaces that will more than double the current market capacity of KM.
He went on: “Kanifing Municipal Markets (KMT): This project is the first municipal urban transport system that will provide 50 buses over 5 years that will service over 20 routes within our municipality.
Kanifing Municipal Road Network Project (KMRNP) will build over 38KM of roads connecting every ward in our municipality over the next 5 years.
Solid Waste Processing Plant: This will develop the first fully mechanised solid waste management plant and transfer station in the municipality.
Affordable Housing Project: This will bring about the first municipal affordable housing company targeting the development of 8000 affordable homes for young families and less privileged families within our municipality”.
Haddy Jatta commended the people of Latrikunda for their hard work. She however appealed to the mayor to help them reduce the cost of rent for the shops, citing that goods are too expensive and that they could make profits for their businesses to flourish.
She further appealed to the Mayor to help improve the drainage system of the markets as the market vendors face a lot of difficulties during the rainy season.
Pa Jabbie Gassama, Market Union President urged the market vendors to be law-abiding and to be committed paying their taxes for continued development.
