Abou Samaké, the Kassa islanders’ hope

A member of the 36th graduating class of Conakry’s Gamal Abdel Nasser Polytechnic Institute, Abou Samaké was initially deputy sub-prefect of Kassa, where he is originally from, before being appointed acting sub-prefect in December 2020.

On March 16, 2021, the sub-prefecture of Kassa became an urban commune, an announcement that was greeted with euphoria on the island of the Loos archipelago in Guinea Conakry, and with good reason. Abandoned until then, it has finally had the opportunity to break away from marginalization thanks to financial autonomy.

For Mr. Abou Samaké, it was a relief to see his locality erected as the 6th urban commune by the National Assembly, a status awaited since 2012. “Our ambition today is to develop the islands of Loos, electrification, water supply, maritime transport… In short, we crave development”, he told the Guinean press.

And it was none other than Mr. Samaké who was officially installed at the head of the Kassa Special Delegation on July 06, 2021. Since then, he has fought to register his commune with the funding agency for the communes of Conakry (AFICOM) and succeeded in integrating it without waiting until 2022. It was also during his first months at the helm of Kassa that he rehabilitated the local radio station, which is now broadcasting daily, much to the delight of the islanders. On the environmental front, the commune carried out a vast reforestation campaign in August and September 2021. Abou Samaké’s first 100 days at the helm of Kassa also saw the launch of the construction of a computer center, for which he was able to provide equipment and a trainer.
The new administrative status of the Commune of Kassa enables it to defend its own development projects before international donors, and to draw up bilateral cooperation plans with institutions, as well as with other communes in Guinea Conakry and the rest of the world.

As a result, the mayor is multiplying development projects, notably for the digitization of civil status, the fight against malaria, the rehabilitation of various health centers, sanitation and infrastructure, among others. Education is one of his priority areas, as this former linguistics professor knows that education is the only way to emancipate people and eradicate poverty and juvenile delinquency.

Back in 2009, when he was a schoolteacher, Abou Samaké had launched the Abou-Sorro association with his French friend and teacher, to help get children into school on the island of Kassa. As the Honorary president of the NGO at the helm of the project on the island since the association was created, he is “well on the way to succeeding in this tremendous challenge of providing schooling, literacy, education and training, in collaboration with the families, for hundreds of young islanders who will be the driving force behind the economic development of the Loos islands”, as stated on the Abou-Sorro association’s 2023 membership campaign page.

Little by little, the NGO’s dream is coming true. The foundation stone for the Sorro-Mangué school complex was laid in May 2018, and two of the three planned buildings, as well as the latrines, were completed in September 2020, enabling the first children to start school on that date.

Abou Samaké’s achievements earned him a nomination in 2023 as one of the Guineans who inspire the world by the international structure “Those Who Inspire”. Committed for more than a decade to education in his community, the mayor of Kassa is full of ambition for his commune, where he works passionately to build its future. With so many projects to undertake, Kassa is also reaching out to partners and the State and is not hesitating to approach institutions to move forward, but also to change its image.

Abou Samaké’s ambition for this commune of 35,000 inhabitants, located at the entrance to the capital and whose main activity is fishing, is to make it the showcase of Conakry. This is what he said in an interview with UCLG Africa during the 7th edition of the African Forum of Territorial Managers and Training Institutes targeting Local Governments (FAMI7), held from November 20 to 26, 2023 in El Jedida, Morocco.

FAMI7 was an opportunity for him to attend a training seminar entitled “Urban planning: tools and best practices”, a theme he didn’t choose at random. After all, his new commune is in need of development and evolution. “Planning a city creates resources. If the Loos Islands are well-planned, it would give another face to my capital, to my country, and why not, to Africa.”

The mayor of Kassa said he was convinced that by applying what he had learned, his commune would flourish and be able to make the most of its strong tourist potential. To sum up, Kassa is only at the beginning of its history. It now has its destiny in its own hands, under the leadership of Abou Samaké, whom his teams call “the tireless”.

Sources :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1hr_piesK4&t=4s
https://www.helloasso.com/associations/association-abou-sorro/adhesions/adhesion-abou-sorro-2023
https://mosaiqueguinee.com/kassa-erigee-en-commune-urbaine-on-a-soif-de-developpement-abou-samake-sous-prefet/
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https://verite224.com/kassa-abou-samanke-fait-le-bilan-de-ses-100-jours-et-devoile-dautres-innovations-en-cours/
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