In a landmark decision to towards tackling problems of waste management, environmental degradation, flooding, and lack of adequate infrastructures among others, Brikama Area Council (BAC) has today, successfully disbursed D1,000,000,000 (one million dalasis) of Ward Development Funds (WDF) to each 28 ward councilors in West Coast Region, marking further steps towards tackling the The WDF allocation was initiated by the council in February 2024 and consistently maintained in 2025 and 2026 respectively.
Speaking at the disbursement ceremony, the Chairman of council, Yankuba Darboe, said the 2024 disbursement of D14 million led to the provision of 22 boreholes in the region, enabling 22 communities to access clean drinkable waters, and a construction of 8 market sheds for 9 communities, with 3 communities connecting to the national electricity grid in 2024.
“The amount was doubled last year, 2025; as we disbursed D28 million to the 28 wards of our region with each receiving D1 million dalasis each. This resulted in the provision of 20 boreholes in the region, enabling another 20 communities to have access to clean drinkable waters; additional market sheds are built or being built for 11 communities; 2 communities were connected to national electricity grid,” Darboe said as he reflects on the impacts of the initiative in West Coast Region for the past two years.
The projects, like the previous ones, are expected to be guided by a policy that was developed by the Ward Development Funds Management, and consistently supervised by the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee of the council in order to ensure their successful implementations.
Been the largest and most populous region in the Gambia, the residents continue to face myriads of development challenges such as pollution, high population density and overcrowding.