Talib Ahmed Bensouda, leader of the UNITE Party, Coalition 2026 flagbearer and Mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC), has alleged that the government’s White Paper on the Local Government Commission of Inquiry contains findings and references that were absent from earlier drafts of the commission’s report.
Speaking on Coffee Time with Peter Gomez, Mr Bensouda said he had seen several versions of the report before it was submitted to President Adama Barrow, including an initial draft, a revised version and a final signed document.
He claimed that the versions he reviewed did not contain some of the material subsequently reflected in the government’s White Paper.
According to him, the first draft was amended and shortened before a second version emerged. He further alleged that an analysis of the second draft suggested that about 80 per cent of its content was AI-generated.
However, he said the final signed document submitted to the president also did not contain some of the references later included in the White Paper.
“When you look at the White Paper, they try to refer exactly to Section 62(3)(c) and say economic crimes, improper behaviour, misconduct. It’s like they’re trying to copy and paste what is in Section 62(3)(c) and put it in the White Paper,” he said.
Mr Bensouda argued that such references were not contained in the commission’s findings and recommendations submitted to the president.
He maintained that recommendations concerning an individual’s liability should be supported by evidence established during the inquiry.
The KMC mayor also questioned the government’s decision to accept recommendations for economic crime investigations and other actions against him, arguing that the allegations in the White Paper were not consistent with what he had seen in the earlier versions.
He cited the Mbalit waste management project, a D10,000 surcharge and D13.1 million paid to the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) for trucks as issues raised against him in the White Paper.
Mr Bensouda described the commission’s proceedings and the government’s subsequent response as politically motivated, alleging that the publication was intended to undermine his political ambitions ahead of the presidential election.
The government, however, has published the commission’s report alongside its White Paper, outlining its decisions on the commission’s findings and recommendations.
Mr Bensouda’s allegations about differences between the drafts and the final documents have not been independently established. A comparison of the different versions would be necessary to determine whether material was added or altered before publication.
