Mayor Bensouda made the remarks yesterday – Thursday – during the launching and distribution of 10, 000 waste bins to communities within KMC, added that KMC is also working on building over 38 kilometer roads connecting every ward in the municipality over the next 5 years.
He further disclosed that Council is also working on bringing about the first municipal affordable housing company (Affordable Housing Project) targeting the development of 8000 affordable homes for young families and less privileged families within the municipality.
The Council, he added, would develop the first fully mechanised solid waste management plant and transfer station in the municipality.
In addition to the above, he said they would also develop seven new markets over 5 years with over a 1000 new vendor spaces that would double the current market capacity of KM.
He noted that the initiative entered in partnership with its development partners is a phase of warp-speed development which touches the lives of every resident within KMC.
According to him, the Council under his leadership has a defined road map and would work diligently and tirelessly to implement and deliver the action plan to change and transform the landscape of KMC and the country.
He stated that in 2017 before they came into office, the Council budget was D117million and in 2022 they will reach a milestone of D344 million representing a 300% increase and in 2023 they have budgeted D438 million which will represent a 4000% increase in income. “This means KMC is able to provide 4 times the level of service to its residents as before we assumed office,” he stated.
He thanked the European Union for their invaluable support in funding the Kanifing Environmental Transformation Programme (KETP) project with a grant fund of 3 million Euros.
Meanwhile, the 10, 000 waste bins will be distributed into communities within KMC to further accelerate the realisation of Council’s waste management strategic goals and targets.
The 10, 000 bins are the first phase of Council’s ‘1 bin per household’ initiative and would be distributed to 25% of its 35,000 communal households and 500 business operations with the municipality.
An additional 25,000 bins are targeted to complete Council’s waste bin initiative, which is part of its wider scheme of allocating ‘one bin to each compound’ with the overall objective of providing all household residents of Kanifing Municipality with waste bins.
The initiative is in line with achieving the Council's vision of creating a ‘zero waste’ municipality, a first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.
