Kanifing is the biggest and most densely populated municipality in the smallest country in Africa. Even though we feel like we are the capital, we are not recognised as that [Banjul, to the west, holds that title]. Our biggest challenge is a lack of infrastructure, and huge pressure on the infrastructure that we have in place. We are struggling with housing, waste management, roads—you name it. We are struggling to give our residents a good quality of life.

But, despite the pressure we are under, we have a clear agenda to transform the city.

Our number one priority is developing the resources needed to do anything! We are modernising our revenue systems through digitisation and licensing reforms to build a sustainable financial base to fund our programmes. You cannot optimise council services without developing a good revenue base that you can sustain.

We are experimenting with technology. For example, with partners, we are exploring how we can use technologies like Google Plus Codes to make sure every built structure and piece of land is allocated an address that we can connect to our systems, including what we want to be a dynamic, up-to-date rates database. We are also conducting studies to connect waste collection and tax payments.

As mayor, I am trying to make sure that there’s a strong social contract between the city and all its residents. I think that’s very important.

Seventy per cent of our population is below 40. Of course, I am part of that demographic. So, youth employment is always on my mind and is top of our agenda as city leadership. One of my goals during my term as mayor is to maximise economic opportunities for youth. We are in the process of developing a programme aimed at funding the creation of at least 2,000 youth businesses. It’s something we are trying to fund now.

As mayor, I’m also very concerned about building resilience through infrastructure. So we are trying to develop our public markets, which are an essential part of life here, and invest in community centres for our communities and youth.

Like many other African cities, we are very vulnerable to climate events that can be associated with climate change, even though we haven’t contributed much to emissions and other factors. I feel like we are taking the brunt of the effects of climate change.

I believe it’s inevitable that we have more and more people like me occupying positions of leadership, given that the population across the continent is skewed towards the young. We are just an obvious majority now, and there’s no way to stop that from happening. Technology and social media are enabling the youth in my country and across the continent to be connected to the rest of the world, making them aware of what’s happening. In some way, it’s helping build up their confidence. So, we have a youth on the rise, and their increased confidence is resulting in some wanting to be in leadership.

I became mayor at the age of 29. I’m 38 now, so I’m still young. I am seeing the rise of a new generation of mayors who are bringing a bold, reform-driven mindset grounded in action and technology, and who share the aspirations of the youth.

It seems to me that across the continent the countries that are currently facing youth-led protests are mostly being led by older people. The youth have been frozen out of government for a very long time—being told that they have to “wait their turn”, or are too young. So my generation and the one coming up behind me are losing patience. They want to be involved in deciding their own futures. The youths are feeling like they have not been getting their fair share of the national pie.

I think African youths have always been irritated throughout the generations by being told to wait. But, what’s different now is the advent of the internet. Its given is an ability to communicate and to organise. Say what you will about social media, but it has given the youth an ability to draw lessons from elsewhere and sometimes to organise quickly.

The youth are converting that long irritation into action. That’s something I have to understand and respond to as mayor.

*Edited for clarity and length