Youssou Ndoure Made Honorary Citizen KMC

The Lord Mayor of the Kanifing Municipal Council Yankuba Colley on Saturday 14th February 2009 conferred an honorary citizenship of Kanifing on Senegalese music icon Youssou Ndoure at the Ocean Bay Hotel in Cape Point.

This was in due recognition of Youssou’s achievements in entertaining and uniting generations of the people of Senegambia region and beyond through music over the past several decades. It was also meant to recognize his singular love for the Gambian nation and support for local initiatives that seek to better the lives of the less privilege.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony of the citizenship certificate and the emblem of the KanifingMunicipality to Youssou, Mayor Colley described Youssou Ndoure as a musician of exemplary character who has taken enormous strides in fostering his Excellency the President Professor Alhagi Yahya Jammeh’s persistent call for African integration and the promotion of culture.

He said Youssou’s music transcends mere entertainment to building a platform of peace and mutuality between the people of Africa and the wider world.

In his remarks, Youssou Ndoure said he was deeply touched by the honor and considers it as one of the most pleasant of all awards ever given to him. He said The Gambia is a country with great potential and that the people of the country should support the leadership in realising those potentials.

He said Municipal authorities have a big role in transforming the lives of citizens and the promotion of local culture, and expressed his resolve to partner with the KMC in establishing a cultural centre in the Municipality.

The Public Affairs Manager of KMC Pa Kalifa Sanyang, Alhaji Mustapha Saine, Administrative Officer for Religion and Culture at the Council and Gibi Bah, Youssou Ndoure’s long standing pal in the Gambia also spoke at the occasion.

Meanwhile, Youssou Ndoure has accepted an invitation by the Lord Mayor to return to Banjul for the celebration of the award on a date to be announced in due course.