In late September 2025, the Mayor of Kanifing Municipality, Talib Ahmed Bensouda, published a video announcing that his council had secured $450,000 (approximately GMD33 million) from the Mayors Migration Council’s Global Cities Fund (GCF) – to support small businesses for migrant returnees.
This sparked criticism from his opposition who pointed to an even bigger $26 million (D1.82 billion) project announced by the KMC Mayor back in October 2024. The critics highlight that the “failure of the billion dalasi project” is proof that Mayor Bensouda’s latest announcement can’t be trusted.
This fact-check aims to ascertain if both projects have been awarded and if critics claims of a failed project are true.
Claims:
UNCDF $26 million (D1.8 billion) Project
The first claim features the United Nations Capital Development Fund’s (UNCDF) $26 million (D1.8 billion) grant reported by multiple newspapers and online media platforms in early October 2024.
According to publications from the Fatou Network and Kerr Fatou dated 2nd October 2024, “Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) is set to benefit from the United Nations Capital Development Fund’s (UNCDF) $26 million Blue Peace Fund to support its development programs.”
However, a publication dated 3rd October 2024 by the The Standard Newspaper gave more context by revealing that “Mayor Bensouda said in 2022, the KMC was identified as one of the beneficiaries of the $26 million Blue Peace Fund, but the release of the funds was delayed.”
The publication quoted Mayor Bensouda saying he “visited the UNCDF headquarters to sort out the impasse, and luckily, we were able to secure the release of the funds”.
GCF $450,000 (D33 million) Project
The second claim, issued more recently via a video announcement on Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda’s Official Facebook page on 25th September 2025 was captioned with the message; “Kanifing Municipality is one of six cities to benefit from $450,000/GMD 33 Million from the Mayor’s Migration Council under the Global Cities Fund for Refugees and Migrants.”
“The funding will help to launch small businesses for back way returnees with D220,000 for each selected youth, and provide continuous support to ensure they grow and create new opportunities for all youths,” the post stated.
Fact-Check:
After critics concerns continued to mount, EyeAfrica TV published a snippet of a video interview conducted back on 19th October 2024 with the KMC Mayor where he discussed the challenges facing the D1.8 billion UNCDF grant. During the interview Mayor Bensouda clarified that “the [D1.8 billion UNCDF] project went up to a certain point and got stuck in its application process”.
A year after this clarification, Mayor Bensouda was quoted again on The Standard Newspaper highlighting that the announcement from the Council was premature.
According to him, “following the announcement from KMC, the UNCDF complained that they only informed us about them applying for it and it was not yet approved. I remember making corrections to that effect. So, because of the premature announcement the deal never materialized.”
FactCheck Gambia managed to speak to Mayor Bensouda regarding the UNCDF Project. He confirmed that the premature announcement had caused challenges in securing the project. After the announcement, he received calls from international partners raising concerns that the project was not approved.
Our research shows that as far back as October 2024, the Mayor had clarified that the UNCDF project suffered a setback.
On the recently announced $450,000 (D33 million) grant, Mayor Bensouda shared an official letter from the GCF confirming that the project has been approved.
According to the letter, KMC “was selected as a grantee of the 2025 cohort of the Mayors Migration Council’s GCF. Your GCF grant will have a period of 24 months beginning December 1, 2025, with a grant award amount of US$450,000.”
It added that “the primary objective of the 2025 GCF is to unlock economic opportunities for migrants and refugees while promoting inclusive economies for all. The secondary goal is to uplift the capacity of local leadership, such as your own, to institute inclusive practices that can be scaled, replicated, and drive lasting systems change.”
Verdict:
Given the reports and statements from the KMC Mayor, it can be seen that $26 million (D1.8 billion) UNCDF Grant was announced prematurely and never materialized. This was brought to the attention of the media by the KMC Mayor when responding to questions from a journalist back on 19th October 2024 on EyeAfrica TV.
Our fact-check also confirmed that the $450,000 (D33 million) GCF grant has been approved and the implementation is set to commence on 1st December, 2025.
Therefore, public concerns that the $26 million (D1.8 billion) UNCDF project failed to materialize are valid, however, the $450,000 (D33 million) GCF project is scheduled to commence by the end of this year.
