The Office of the President has decided to take over the management of McCarthy Square, which has historically been under the Banjul City Council. The decision was conveyed to the BCC in a letter signed by the secretary to cabinet. The letter reads in full: “Following the recent renovation of The McCarthy Square as part of events of the 60th independence anniversary, the Office of The President wishes to notify you of the decision to take over the management and security of the square. “You may wish to note that the Office of The President spent significant funds to give the square the current facelift which requires proper management and adequate security to maintain, hence this decision. Please note that an inventory will be made of all movable assets at the Square in consultation with the current manager. “We look forward to your usual cooperation and thank you for the great work over the years.”

Contacted for comments on this development, Banjul Mayor Rohey Lowe who is currently out of the country said she “just heard” of the decision of OP to take over the square. “Honestly, I am not happy about this decision. I cannot understand why again the BCC is targeted for hostility. My council is the only one where staff members have been interdicted even before the commission of inquiry started its work. We were sidelined in the Banjul Roads Project and now this latest move to take the square from us. Sometimes I wonder whether it is because of my being a woman that I get all these hostilities from the government,” Mayor Lowe said.

The mayor added: “All of these are happening despite the huge respect and courtesy I have accorded the executive. I simply don’t understand and sometimes I even think that one day they will come to take my own office,” she lamented.
Credit – Standard Newspaper