By: Fatou Krubally
Isatou Njie, former national coordinator of Rafela, on Thursday told the Local Government Commission of Inquiry that the Banjul City Council (BCC) failed to provide consistent support to the women’s empowerment initiative, describing the setup as poorly structured and heavily influenced by the mayor’s personal interests.
Testifying before the commission, Ms. Njie detailed how Rafela, a women-focused empowerment platform under BCC, struggled due to lack of operational funding and poor institutional structure. She said although Rafela was established with the intention of promoting women’s economic and political empowerment, it operated without adequate resources or transparency.
Njie recalled a planned partnership between BCC and Rafela to provide women access to finance and build multi-purpose market sheds. She, however, said no joint planning sessions or workshops took place with the council to develop funding proposals, apart from the market shed project at Albert Market which, she said, was mostly undertaken by Rafela alone.
“The programs we did ranged from capacity-building to sensitizing women on the importance of voting, but we never got to microfinance,” she testified. She also revealed that while there was mention of a $1 million initiative for women, she was unsure of its status.
Njie noted that BCC gave Rafela a one-time payment of D300,000 in July 2024 to cover six months of allowances for her and colleagues. Before that, she said they were paid directly by the council. Contrary to claims that the amount was an annual allocation, she clarified it was a one-off disbursement.
She recounted an incident where a program was held at BCC without her knowledge, despite her being the coordinator.
“It appeared more like a personal business for the mayor than a structured institutional setup,” she told the commission.
Njie concluded her testimony by urging authorities to empower those committed to delivering results.
“You cannot say you are empowering women with one hand and suppressing another woman with the other,” she said, warning that staff will continue to quit if they see no benefits.
