Business magnate Muhammed Jah has defended his role in the 19-million-dalasi waste trucks deal with Kanifing Municipal Council, telling a local government inquiry that his company was approached directly by officials eager to tackle the city’s mounting waste crisis.

Jah, appearing before the inquiry, revealed that talks with KMC began even before the 2018 mayoral elections.

“I don’t think we were written to, they called us,” Jah told investigators.

“This project had a social impact and I was interested. We were invited to the mayor’s office to discuss discounts, even though we were already the most responsible bidder. The mayor and his team wanted a better deal, so he called a council meeting and invited me there.”

The deal, struck in 2019, was to supply 19 trucks to match KMC’s 19 wards. But Jah stressed that KMC was not the only council interested.

“After the elections, all municipalities contacted us. We discussed and negotiated with them. We even toured the country to see how waste is collected, dumped and processed,” he said.

Mr Jah argued that the deal was about more than profit, pointing to the poor state of waste management nationwide.

“KMC needed 19 trucks because they wanted to fix the waste problem in every ward,” he added.

His testimony comes as the inquiry probes multimillion-dalasi contracts awarded to private firms under questionable terms.

Critics have accused KMC of rushing into the waste trucks deal without due process, while supporters argue the council was desperate to improve sanitation services for residents.

Jah insisted his company acted transparently, stressing that the initiative was driven by the council’s requests, not by his firm.

By Adama Makasuba