By: Kebba Ansu Manneh
Land dispute in Sukuta has reached it glamour stage as seven Kabilos in Sukuta demanding for the immediate release of panel report on Salagi Land crunch.
Ousman Bojang, spokesman for the affected families made the statement on Sunday 27th, December 2020, at press conference in Salagi, where he disclosed some allegations on land dealings, illegal land allocations, clandestine leasing of lands to families, friends and girlfriends by both past and present officials of Local Government and Lands.
The report conducted by the Ministry of Interior was meant to authenticate allegations labeled against senior officials of the Ministry of Local Government and Lands, Departments of Lands and Physical Planning Department.
Bojang alleged that senior Local Government officials namely; Ansu Fatty, Dawda Fatty, Mamudu Manjang, director of Physical Planning, Kebba Ceesay, director of Lands, Buba Sanyang, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Lands, Musa Badgie, and Lamin Jammeh have all time sold lands and also disposed lands to families, friends, girlfriends and some Yai Compins of APRC Party members during the era of ex-president Yahya AJJ Jammeh and now through the issuance of land allocation papers that are paid at high prices.
“We are aware that the police have concluded their work and submitted the Panel Report on our Lands at Salagi to the relevant authorities at the Ministry of Local Government and to the office of the President but still we are not told anything about it and what next.
“We have been exercising patience for a very long time and this matter left unchecked can result to violence which we definitely want to avoid by all means,” said Bojang.
He added to this that “We are here as affected families to demand the immediate release of the panel report on our lands. It is more than six months since this report was concluded and submitted to the relevant authorities but they are keeping mute on it, we want to know the content and the verdicts.”
According to him, more than one thousand youths from the seven different Kabilos of Sukuta has lost their ancestral and farming lands through illegal creation of Salagi Housing Estate by some corrupt officials of the Ministry of Local Government and Lands.
He further alleged that through aiding and abetting senior officials at the Ministry of Local Government and Lands, Department of Lands and Physical Planning they have sold hundreds of plots of lands to the settlers at exorbitant prices through the covers of land allocation act.
Bojang pointed out that Ansu Fatty, Dawda Fatty, Mamudu Manjang, Musa Badgie and Land Jammeh masterminded the illegal creation of Salagi Estate, disclosing that both the “Permanent Secretary and Director of Physical Planning and Lands are all liable for sales of Lands, illegal preparation of land allocation documents, demarcations and selling of proposed hospital sites among others sites created for cemeteries, Schools, parks, garages and mosques.”
He denied the Ministry’s claims of compensation made to the affected families, emphasizing that such claims are false and the announcement created troubles among same family members.
“We heard Buba Sanyang saying the Ministry has given us compensation, which is not true because they did not compensate families they only decide on their own and compensate few people from some families.
“Even those that benefited their compensation took it against their will because to them is better to lost some than to lose all,” he stated.
He went on that “Our position for now is very simple and clear; all empty plots of land within Salagi property are our lands and we are the full owners. We have no problem with those who develop their plots because we are all Gambians.”
Ousman Jarju, representing the elders of the affected families pleaded with senior officials of Local Government and Lands to leave their lands and return all the lands they stole from the people of Sukuta.
“More than four estates where clandestinely created in Sukuta without the knowledge of the elders of the community.
“These lands are our lands that we inherited from our forefathers, government doesn’t own them, and they are ours. Unfortunately, now what we are seeing is people who are claiming to be working for government are the ones depriving our children from having their one shelter,” he said.
Lamin Jatta, Youth Leader appealed to both the Ministry of Youths and President’s Office to intervene to quell the looming fire at Salagi. He said that many Sukuta youths are renting in houses that are clandestinely stolen from them and sold out by officials of Local Government and Lands.
“We are very surprised that in the master plan of Salagi property, a vast plot of land was earmarked for a hospital but interestingly this land has been demarcated and sold out to buyers by same senior officials at the Ministry of Local Government and Lands. We cannot tolerate many of these types of scenarios currently going on at Salagi.
“They are taking our lands, selling them out clandestinely under the pretext of state protocols, while we are sleeping outside,” Jatta stated.
