Gambia’s capital city made history on Saturday for voting the first-ever female mayor.
Rohey Malick Lowe made waves in the city when she announced her candidature for one of Africa’s smallest capitals. It was not surprising though considering her late father Malik Lowe had held the mantle at one time.
We congratulate the first female mayor of the our country; Ms. Rohey Malick Lowe. Congratulations Lord Mayor!
The entire country is proud of you for being steadfast and determined from the beginning to the very end. Congratulations on your victory.#UDPForGambia pic.twitter.com/WgkoB48fqn— United Democratic Party (@OfficialUDPGmb) May 13, 2018
She vied for the seat under the ruling party, United Democratic Party and was declared the winner at the just concluded municipal elections- the first of such elections to be held after the ouster of Yahya Jammeh.
Among her top priorities is to give Banjul a facelift by starting with sanitation, municipal economy and public infrastructure.
“After 22 year’s Executive neglect, the Gambia and her capital Banjul, in particular, need a serious face-lift. Banjul as a City is in a bad shape, and it would require pragmatic, visionary leadership with a progressive team and established structures to make that happen,” she said on her GoFundMe page.
Malick Lowe is now the second female mayor in West Africa after Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, who was sworn in on May 11 after clinching the mayoral seat of Sierra Leone capital Freetown.
