By Yankuba Jallow
The Mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council, Talib Ahmed Bensouda, came under sharp scrutiny last Wednesday before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry over a paving contract awarded to a company tied to his brother, raising stark questions about conflict of interest and oversight in one of the country’s largest councils.
The Commission, established to investigate the financial and administrative operations of local councils from May 2018 to January 2023, heard how Lionworks, a firm in which the mayor’s brother Sidi was an investor, secured a contract worth D377,750 in 2019 for the supply and laying of paving blocks on the Banjul Highway.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez opened the line of questioning with a pointed exchange. “You know Lionworks?” Gomez asked. Bensouda replied, “Yes. So Lionworks is a company owned by Raymond. I don’t know his last name. And my brother, Sidi, is an investor, but I don’t know what his investment is.” Pressed further, he added, “He’s my full brother.”
Council records showed Lionworks was paid D188,875 on the contract, with the balance written off after intervention from the mayor. “Now, Lionworks was paid an amount that we have seen for doing work for Council. Are you aware of this?” Gomez asked. “Yes, I am aware,” Bensouda admitted.
The mayor described how he came to know about the project. “Early in 2019, the CEO embarked on a beautification project. We said we would beautify turntables and roundabouts. When he started the project on my way to work, I saw that he had started implementing the project. When I arrived at the office, I complimented him on the good work he was doing. I asked him where he got these slabs because I recognized the zigzag. It was unique to Lionworks,” Bensouda told the Commission.
He said he immediately flagged the conflict. “Upon hearing what he told me, I informed him that, well, I don’t think it’s a good idea because my brother has an investment in the company. And everybody knows that it is my policy that I don’t want anything to do with Council and any family-related businesses, etc. … My advice is I don’t want as a policy for companies relating to my family to be used.”
Bensouda testified that he tried to remedy the situation by asking his brother and the company’s management to treat the slabs as a donation. “I proceeded to call Sidi. I said, look, this has happened. I would like you to donate these slabs to the Council. He said, well, he doesn’t have that operational mandate. I should call Raymond. So I got the number of Raymond. I called Raymond. I said, Raymond, can you please donate these slabs to the Council? And he said, well, it’s too expensive. That would not be possible. He had already received a payment of 188,000. So he said what he can do, because I explained my policy for him. And he said what he can do is he can donate the remaining balance to the Council,” the mayor explained.
But that version clashed with testimony from former KMC CEO Jaja Cham, who told the Commission in a written statement that he personally halted the deal. “I decided to inform planning and procurement to inform Lionworks that the works cannot continue since they are part of the Mayor’s family, and this will not be professional or ethical for the Council to award works to family members knowingly,” Cham stated.
When confronted with Cham’s statement, Bensouda rejected it. “I think what Jaja said is 100% in line with what I said. Jaja has no way of knowing if Lionworks is related to my family or not. He has no way. Lionworks is the company that creates ZigZag at the time. They supply to ports, they supply to Ministry of Education, all the big players buy from them and they create ZigZag. Even our house, it has ZigZag. That’s why when I saw it, I asked him, I said, oh, this is nice. Where did you get your slabs from? He said, oh, we got it from Lionworks. That’s when I told him it is related to the family.”
The hearing took a sharper turn when the Commission presented a 2018 council resolution requiring mayoral approval for all contracts and payments. Resolution 8, admitted into evidence, stated: “All contracts including MOUs and all forms of engagement and support that may have the effect of binding to the Council, or creating an obligation or right connected to the Council, and all payments from Council accounts or funds be subjected to final approval of the Mayor.”
Bensouda acknowledged signing the resolution but argued the practice had since been abandoned. “At the time, correct. At the time. But it was reversed. I, as Mayor, do not sign any contracts, do not authorize any payments, and I would love for you to show me any authorization I have made on the Lionworks payment,” he told the Commission. “I have zero interest in Council funds and nor does any member of my family. I will take that to the grave because that is exactly what has happened.”
Lead Counsel Gomez pressed further: “Mr. Bensuda, and so that the payments that we have highlighted to you, the payments even with Lionworks, could not have been made without your knowledge, because this was what you signed the resolution.” The mayor fired back: “That is incorrect and that is wrong, and the Lionworks payment happened about 10 months after this Council resolution, which many things have transpired.”
The mayor defended his role by pointing to the unpaid balance. “Why in the world would any businessman give 377,000 worth of value to a Council and refuse to take almost 200,000 money to date, half the amount to date when they are entitled to it? That would make no sense unless there was an intervention and that intervention was my intervention,” Bensouda insisted.
