By: Haddy Touray
The community of Sanyang has written to the Managing Director of the Gambia Port Authority (GPA), Ousman Jobarteh, demanding that all on-hand facilities of the proposed deep-seaport be located on the sparsely-settled Tourism Development Area (TDA) after the Hawaba old settlement to the boundary between Sanyang and Tujereng.
In a letter to the GPA managing director dated 30 January 2025, barrister Lamin J. Darboe, acting under the instruction of the Sanyang Village Development Committee (SVDC), the Alkalo and Council of Elders, Sanyang Development Fund (SDF), Sanyang Diaspora and Deepsea Port Taskforce, lawyer Darboedemanded the preservation of the community’s cultural and historical sites, environmentally sensitive areas and eco-tourism areas. The community urged thatfacilities should not be impacted by the deep seaport project and the sites include and not limited to Hawaba, Berewuleng prayer shrine, fish landing site, mangrove rejuvenation and planting area and the sacred Beikefet river.
The letter was copied to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, National Assembly Select Committee on Monitoring and Implementation of Government Projects, Chairman BrikamaArea Council, Governor, West Coast Region, National Assembly Member, Kombo South and Chief of Kombo South.
Sanyany said the community’s decision to write to the GPA management followed growing concerns and agitations among the people of Sanyang, regarding government transparency and recent statements uttered by MD Ousman Jobarteh on a popular local radio program called the Coffee Time, where he said the land acquisition for the Sanyang portproject is on two-fold and both will cover from the river lines of Sanyang Beach, including all properties to the Sanyang/Gunjur/Tujereng Coastal road in the heart of the village.
This raised concerns among hundreds of residents, business owners and sympathisers, who are of the view that authorities have demonstrated their failure to consult affected families during evaluation of their properties and failure to disclosed the contents of the deep seaport masterplan and what is on stake for the community of Sanyang in the concession agreement.
“This open declaration by the GPA meant the DSP will wipe out and displace more than half of the village of Sanyang. This caused a huge distress and confusion to the entire populace,” Counsel Lamin J. Darboe revealed in his letter to the GPA’s Jobarteh. He added: “My clients are of the informed view that the size of the land being earmarked is utterly disproportionate to the public use criteria. The size of land earmarked for the DSP by the GPA is 100, 000 hectares or thereabout.”
Counsel Darboe stated that “further distress”for the community has being compounded by the GPA’s dropping of flyers in informingfamilies that their properties are affected by the project, noting that the failure of the authorities in concealing the DSP project master plan has caused huge anxiety and unease among residents and natives of Sanyang on the project transparency.
“My clients take the view that GPA has deliberately kept the people of Sanyang in darkness as there is no way such a project of this magnitude will engage the services of a consultancy company to indiscriminately mark and value properties without some sort of a master plan,” Counsel Darboe wrote. He continued:”My clients conducted extensive research into the size of a similar deep-seaports in the sub-region for a like to like comparison. They discovered that the total land area for Lekki Deep Seaport in Nigeria is only 90 hectares, with a total population of more than 230 million. It is utterly baffling;the GPA has earmarked such huge land space for comparatively tiny Gambia.”
Darboe also relayed the appreciation of the Sanyang community in hosting such a project on their doorstep, arguing that irrespective of the multiplier effects of the project, the rights and concerns of the people of Sanyang should not be compromised and taken for granted.
Saikou Camara, secretary-general and legal compliance officer of Sanyang UK Association (SUKA), called for the proactive involvement of all natives and residents of Sanyang in the crusade to rectifying the “wrongs” of the GPA in handing such matters.
He revealed that Sanyang Diaspora has endeavored to unearth the master plan of the DSP project contrary to the statements made by GPA managing director, who claimed on Coffee Time that about 100, 000 hectares of land has been earmarked for the project.
He claimed that the masterplan that the GPA concealed from the people of Sanyang contains four alternative maps, all of which are way below the 100, 000 hectares of land disclosed by the GPA MD, noting that the first alternative map shows that 135 hectares of land will be consumed by the DSP project, while 239.1 hectares, 242.02 hectares and 1298.262 hectares, respectively stands for alternative 2, 3 and 4.
Camara continued to state that it is the common view of all stakeholders of Sanyang that the location of the deep seaport should only be between Hawba towards Tujerengvillage, arguing that the GPA’s request of acquiring 100, 000 hectares of land in Sanyang for deep seaport is unnecessary and too big for a port.
“We want to get the full project document to see the small prints and know what the project entails and to see what concessions are there for Sanyang if any. Also, we want GPA to put it in clear writing and inform the people of Sanyang that their properties will not be affected as well consultation be held to iron out any differences,” Saikou Camara pointed out.
“To tell them [GPA] to limit all of deepseaport project within the TDA and avoidtouching any residential property, we are also urging GPA not to touch the old Hawbasettlement, our cultural sites, fish landing centre (Tenda) and all established restaurants and Beach Bars from Hawba towards Gunjur,”he added.
Aboulie Botto Gaye, Chairman, Sanyang Village Development Committee (SVDC) also made the position of his committee clear, concerning statements made by Ousman Jobarteh.
In a viral audio sent to the Sanyang Development Funds group, Chairman Sanyang acknowledged that his committeewas taking note of all the concerns and advice of the people of the village and has scheduled a series of radio and media-related activities through the taskforce to clarify GPA MD’s “false claims”.
He appealed to the people of Sanyang to exercise patience and ensure the issue is amicably resolved, called them to unite and speak with one voice in the struggle to ensure fair play and justice.
Many residents, who spoke with this reporter,expressed similar sentiments, disclosing that all restaurants, bars and hotels, fish landing site, fish meal factory, women gardens and more than 400 compounds are all set to disappear sooner or later as Government Concession Agreement with Albayrak, a Turkish Company vested with the responsibility to expand the Banjul Sea Port and develop a Deep-Sea Port at Sanyang,comes into effect.