Kanifing

Sayerr Jobe founded Serekunda, the first settlement in the forested area, in the nineteenth century. He helped establish other settlements in Kanifing, including Bundung and Ebo Town. In 1840, France ceded a area that was called British Kombo and was later renamed Kombo St. Mary. It annexed another French cession in 1853. Kombo St. Mary was part of the Gambia Colony. The Protectorate Ordinances, which was passed between 1894 and 1902, transferred Kombo St. Mary to the administration of the Gambia Protectorate. It returned to the Gambia Colony in 1946. Kombo Rural Authority was renamed Kanifing Urban District Council in 1974 and Kanifing Municipal Council in 1991. == Geography ==

Kanifing is one of the eight LGAs of the Gambia, and is only one that contains only one district. It lies immediately west of the capital city Banjul; this joint conurbation is known as the Greater Banjul Area. == Demographics ==

{{Historical populations Kanifing Municipality has a population of 377,134, as of the 2013 census, making it the country's most-populated and most-densely populated district. The 2024 Census revealed a population of 379,348 - virtually unchanged since 2013. The sex ratio is 1:1 and the mean household size is 6.7. There are 40,367 people (11.63% of the population) in poverty, 3,340 (1.0%) in extreme poverty, and 117,648 (33.9%) in food poverty. The predominantly rural Mandinka people moved to cities in the post-colonial era. Kanifing's share of the Gambia's Mandinka population increased from 3% in 1963 to 16% in 1993. Settlements Kanifing has 19 settlements: == Administration ==

Administrative divisions Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) is led by the Lord Mayor of Kanifing, who has administrative duties. Ward councillors manage social and economic duties. It is further divided into seventy-four sub-wards, each led by a sub-ward chairman. Government Talib Ahmed Bensouda, a member of the United Democratic Party, was elected Lord Mayor of Kanifing in the 2018 election, and was re-elected in the 2023 election. He is the son of lawyer Amie Bensouda. Talib Ahmed Bensouda succeeded Yankuba Colley as Lord Mayor. The Deputy Mayor of KMC is Binta Janneh Jallow, who is the first woman to hold the position. Jallow, who was previously the ward councillor of Bakau New Town, was appointed to the post in July 2021 to replace Pa Musa Bah, who had resigned. , the Crime Management Coordinator of KMC is Pateh Bah, who has held the position since its creation in 2017 by the Adama Barrow administration. The Law Court Complex in Bundung houses the High Court, the Magistrates Court, and the Cadi Court. Kanifing Magistrates Court functions as the Children's Court on Tuesdays and Thursdays, despite the constitution providing for a full-time juvenile court. ==Economy==

Kanifing is the main commercial area of the Gambia, and is the district with the highest concentration of industry, hosting a large industrial estate. Most of the Gambia's hotels and coastal resorts lie within the municipality, as does Independence Stadium, the national football stadium. While government administration is an important part of the economy, 50.8% of the workforce is employed in the private sector. Altogether, 32.5% of workers are in wholesale and retail trade, 13% in manufacturing and 17.5% in services. Of the LGA's 251,712 people who are 15 or older, 122,726 are in the labour force, including 108,474 who are employed and 14,252 who are unemployed. The unemployment rate among workers aged 15 to 35 is 6.5%, relatively low for the Gambia, although within this age range over 20% of those with higher education are unemployed. Child labour affects 3.5% of children aged 5–11, 9.7% aged 12–14, and 14.6% aged 15–17. Bensouda's government has planned an affordable housing project to build 8,000 homes. == Infrastructure ==

Waste management The Local Government Act (the Gambia) 2002 gives municipalities the responsibility for waste management. The Environment and Sanitation Unit (ESU), part of KMC's Directorate of Services, is responsible for waste and other environmental health issues. The ESU performs daily street cleaning and collects market waste and waste from public facilities, and clears illegal dumps. KMC, which spends 25% of its budget on waste management, has no official waste-separation or recycling programmes. Bakoteh Dumpsite, the largest landfill in the country, collects all waste from the Greater Banjul Area. It is overfilled and does not have modern disposal systems. It is located in a densely populated area near Bakoteh, Dippa Kunda and Manjai Kunda. The dumpsite's environmental impacts include methane fires, water contamination, and odour. The city hires bulldozers to transport waste to the dump but it is sometimes blocked by waterlogging in the rainy season. Many residents of the area around the dumpsite make a living from informal recycling. KMC has planned to establish a new dumpsite and turn the old one into a transfer station. It set up 10 communal skip bins and reduced the number of illegal dumpsites from 65 to 17. The programme's success improved the government's image. Bensouda's government has planned an urban bus system with 50 buses and 20 routes. == Education ==

Kanifing has most of the country's tertiary education institutes, including the University of The Gambia, the American International University West Africa, the Gambia Technical Training Institute, and the Management Development Institute. == Sport ==

The Kanifing Municipal Sports Committee (KM Sport) is one of the Gambia's seven regional sports organisations. Its chairperson, who is elected from the chairpersons of its constituent district sport committees, represents Kanifing in the National Sports Council. == Sister cities ==

Kanifing is twinned with: • Madison, Wisconsin, United States • Memphis, Tennessee, United States • , Senegal Madison has provided funding for Kanifing's garbage trucks and its public library. ==External links==