By: Malanding Darboe
The Administration Secretary for Media and Communication of the UDP Tombong Saidy, has said that the Ministry of Lands, Regional Government and Religious Affairs has missed the point in responding to the concerns raised by him and other concerned citizens of The Gambia on the “allocation ” of government property to President Adama Barrow.
Saidy said the press release from the Ministry did not answer the question as to how this property, which is the official residence of the Chief Justice, was given to President Barrow for “his personal use as a residence”.
“The Ministry explained in the press release that the land was unoccupied. So, does this mean all unoccupied government properties would be allocated at will? The current official residence of the Vice President is unoccupied. I guess we should expect it to be allocated as well. This is ridiculous,” stated the former Gambian diplomat . He added: “Former President Jawara’s residence, which is a few meters away, was not a government allocation as some government officials want us to believe. That property belonged to the Catholic Diocese of the Gambia and he got it from them well before he became the First President of this country.
“President Barrow, like any other Gambian, has the right to be to allocated land, but the problem here is that this land is not a reserved land or a layout for allocation. This is a Government Property which is designated as the official residence of the Chief Justice.