By Olimatou Coker
The World Bank has invested US$45 million through the West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project (WACA ResIP II) to reduce flooding and strengthen climate resilience in The Gambia.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources (MECCNAR), together with WACA, handed over waste-collection equipment to Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) and Brikama Area Council (BAC). The equipment will serve communities along the Kotu Stream, a known flood hotspot, and was handed over at MECCNAR’s Abuko complex.
Rohey John Manjang, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, said the Kotu Stream’s catchment lies largely within KMC, which explains why most equipment is destined for that council. She stressed the high cost of waste management, noting the donated items amount to roughly 30 million dalasis, and criticised local councils for failing to allocate sufficient resources. “Waste collection and management is expensive. Councils should do more for Gambians,” she said, while thanking the World Bank, the government of The Gambia for preparing the proposal, and WACA for leading the effort.
Dr Muhammed Lamin Sanyang, WACA Project Coordinator, said the handover responds to long-standing community demands across 11 settlements along the Kotu Stream. WACA has spent three years on sensitisation, awareness campaigns and training, but progress stalled without equipment to enable regular collection. “Behaviour change requires tools. Without equipment, waste will return to the stream within months,” he said.
WACA supplied: 12 tricycles, 100 wheelbarrows, 200 trash bins, two tractor heads with trailers, one compactor truck, two trailers with tipper mechanisms, and two tipper truck equipment valued at nearly 30 million dalasis.
Dr Sanyang said the supplies will support a sustainable solid-waste management system to keep the Kotu Stream clear and reduce flood risk.
Pa Sait Ceesay, CEO of KMC, described the donation as essential. “No single institution can do this alone,” he said.
Yankuba Darboe, BAC chairman, said the handover demonstrates shared responsibility and strengthens local capacity. He pledged operational continuity, transparency and community engagement in managing the assets, and stressed that effective waste management protects public health, dignity and development.
WACA ResIP II is a regional World Bank-funded initiative operating in nine West African countries. In The Gambia, it focuses on reducing flood risk through restoration and reprofiling of the Kotu Stream and by strengthening solid-waste management to maintain unobstructed water flow.