Toure, thanks for another excellent piece. I drafted and sent my posting to
G_L regarding this matter before reading your posting; otherwise I would
have acknowledged the great points you made and avoided repeating some of
the issues you wrote on. I am thankful that you further explained the
current regime under which land is held in the provinces as opposed to the
urban area. It helps expose the chaotic state our tenure system is operating
under. It was also eye-catching that you explained the problems encountered
in societies where the government simply usurped the land without due regard
to the customary rights of the citizens. This is a very difficult issue that
needs to be addressed with cool heads. Our Local Communities should be
empowered and given a strong say in determining their fate. They should be
consulted in this Land Tenure debate and their ideas about the development
of their communities should be given paramount consideration.
I firmly believe though that at the end of the day, the task of allocating
land should be given to a legitimate government after ALL lands have been
acquired by the government in an orderly manner. I think I am more convinced
now after seeing that you also recognize the haphazard way some of the
unscrupulous 'Alkalos' have been allocating these lands that are not within
the purview of the central government.
Thanks again for your contributions.
KB
>From: abdou toure <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: State Land?
>Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 15:48:00 -0000
>
>Sister Jabou,
>
>I agree,debate on land in is very important. In many parts of Africa the
>debate about land reform has been gathering momentum but very little has
>happened since independence. In the case of the Gambia we know that the
>issue about land has always been a concern to many for the past 30 years.
>In
>the rural areas, many inter-communal disputers concern land particularly
>farmlands and occasionally even the open access areas used for grazing.
>Therefore, it was unfortunate that anybody would simplify this issue in
>terms of "tribalism''. I think we should learn to discuss issues based on
>their merits instead of jumping to such serious conclusions, which have the
>effect of marring the essence of the discussions. Because let's not forget
>that land is so important that in the Gambia disputes over ownership had
>led
>to serious conflicts within the same families, same villages and between 2
>or more villages of the same tribe. So, the attribution has no place in
>this
>particular case concerning TAF and Brufut. Perhaps it was a mistake that
>this attribution came up.
>
>Anybody who understands traditional societies should appreciate the fact
>that indigenous tenurial management of land, like customs dealing with
>marriage and divorce, inheritance etc, has been an integral part of life in
>Africa since time immemorial. It was so strong that even the colonialists
>avoided direct interference, safe for areas they settled in e.g. south
>africa, zimbabwe, kenya.
>
>So far the debate has brought up many interesting issues, e.g. sister
>Jabou's arguments about equity of access to and ownership of land, Mr
>Sanneh's allusion to investments and decentralization and the point raised
>by several other members (Manneh, Darbo etc) concerning the rights of the
>community of Brufu over their land. I hope I can make a small contribution
>as well.
>
>First, the legal setting: two main laws govern Land in the Gambia - Lands
>(Banjul and Kombo St Mary) Act of 1935-as amended, and Lands (Provinces)
>Act
>of 1935 as amended. During the colonial period land under the former was
>called Crown land that became State land after independence. So in Banjul
>and Kombo St Mary land is held under freehold and individual titles;
>freehold estates (mostly in Banjul) are permanent possessions while
>ownership of lease titles is defined by the terms of the lease normally 99
>years or so. Technically, land in these areas is considered "state land"-
>i.e. real estate that the government can utilize directly without recourse
>to local authorities. But when the use of land involves freehold estate or
>where the security of peoples' livelihood is involved, then those affected
>must be compensated.
>
>Under the lands provinces Act, all provincial land is administered under
>traditional customary tenure through local authorities, chiefs and
>alkalolus
>, lineages, families etc.. I believe Brufut falls under this category,
>which
>means that according to existing law, the local authorities and their
>people
>should have a say in any use of land under their jurisdiction. But if the
>TAF project site falls within the TDA, then the government has powers of
>allocation if it is in accordance with the land use purpose of the TDA.
>(This in part explains why tribalism is totally out of place here)
>
>In what circumstances can the State "take over" provincial land? According
>to law, the State can take over any land for public purposes ( ie to build
>highways, schools, stadiums etc) In all such cases the owners of any land
>so
>alienated would be compensated as provided for by the Compensation Act, for
>example, the compounds that were affected in the construction of Bundung
>highway,the expansion of serrekunda market etc, did receive some
>compensation. The question to ask is whether the TAF project is a private
>or public venture. From the discussions, the answer is clear- it is
>private.
>Even if one argues that the venture would provide housing for people, one
>would have to state who those people are- perhaps not the majority of
>members of the Brufut community who may not be able afford the housing
>units
>to be provided. So, the point then is that any such venture should call for
>close consultation with the community. Apart from the issue of the use of
>their traditional land, the other point is the impact of such developments
>on their communities. Those who live in democratic societies of North
>America and Europe know the importance of getting the support of
>communities
>in any major development program in their localities. So, although I do not
>know the details of the TAF project and the role of the government in
>seeing
>it through, it seems that as far as the law on land goes the community of
>Brufut has a major stake in this matter.
>
>I will now briefly comment on some specific issues raised by sister Jabou
>and Mr. Sanneh.
>
>Sister Jabou's concern about equity is very legitimate. As I understand it
>this concern is about finding ways of improving the use of our common
>resource - land as part of the democratization agenda. This is of course a
>complex issue and never devoid of politics and sentiments. Therefore, the
>best approach is for us to know the strengths and shortcomings of the
>present tenure system and find ways of improving it. In a number of former
>colonies of the South Pacific for example, government converted all
>customary land to state land at disastrous consequences. In the end they
>had
>to revert to the status quo to avoid further political and social
>difficulties. So what most experts advise is to adopt a gradual approach to
>land reform keeping in mind the needs of vulnerable groups especially women
>and the poor and the productivity of land. (Incidentally, under customary
>tenure women rarely own land). Another danger in the alienation of land to
>the state is that where the state is inefficient or corrupt, then land,
>especially prime land, would all fall into the hands of those with
>significant means- at the expense of the weaker members of society. Having
>said that, it should be noted that in the Gambia land under customary
>tenure
>has been widely shared with others both within and outside the community
>who
>did not possess land, eg strange farmers who used to come seasonally and
>cultivate large parcels of land in the rural areas; many others simply
>stayed on the land. As far as some parts of the Kombos are concerned one
>problem has been the arbitrary manner in which alkalolus allocated land.
>For
>example, they sold land to people with money without consulting the rest of
>the community thus creating major distortions in ownership and undermining
>the integrity of the traditional/customary tenure system.
>
>
>Mr. Sanneh raised the important point about investment. It is true that
>land
>ownership rights and the security of tenure have been linked to investment
>incentives. But in many African countries the greatest disincentives to
>investments both domestic and foreign are the poor governance standards,
>corruption, the legislative climate, labour supply etc, etc. The land
>question has not been a major hindrance to investments in the Gambia. This
>is in fact true for many other African countries, according to a 1993 study
>of 7 countries (based on previous Worl Bank studies), namely that
>indigenous systems of land management, where the rights of local
>communities
>are recognized, do not hinder productivity or investments. In fact a case
>can be made of the low productivity of government-engineered projects. For
>example, to many observers, the efficient use of the huge track of prime
>coastal land stretching from Cape point to Kartong the government carved
>out
> for tourism development (TDA) remains highly questionable, mainly because
>of the way land in this area was allocated. As a result, many plots in the
>TDA have not been optimally utilized and yet the government has been unable
>to further rationalize land use to facilitate the efficiency of investments
>there.Concerning decentralization, it should be expected that such a
>process
>would support the greater empowerment of localities in all important areas
>of decesion making, land matters included. The challenge here is to ensure
>that decentralized units and activities cater for the interests of those
>they represent in the general contxt of the national interest.
>Unfortunately, the efforts at decentralization have produced very little
>results, although in recent years, basic services like the issuing of
>passports and bith certificates have been somewhat decentralized.
>
>AT
>
>
>
>>From: Jabou Joh <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: State Land?
>>Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 16:41:05 EDT
>>
>>Hi Sidi,
>>
>>Good to hear from you, and I hope things go smoothly for you and the
>>family
>>in this transition. Thanks for your imput in this discussion, and i look
>>forward to your contrbution to this topic which I am sure will be
>>informative. I actually do not have a lot of knowledge about this issue
>>vis
>>a
>>vis what government has done or proposed to do in the past. I must
>>confess,
>>I
>>am just presenting my personal view of this situation and my ideas on the
>>issue. Again ,thanks.
>>
>>Regards,
>>Jabou Joh
>>
>>In a message dated 7/8/2001 3:23:16 PM Central Daylight Time,
>>[log in to unmask] writes:
>>
>> >
>> > Jabou, Dave and others,
>> >
>> > The role of Government in allocating land to private investors is an
>> > important issue which needs to be addressed urgently. I have very
>>little
>> > time these days as I wrap-up my affairs at the AfDB to start a new
>> > professional life. As soon as I have some free time, I will comment on
>> > this issue and the implications of having to abort TAF's project for
>>the
>> > second time running. I am concerned about the impact that the current
>> > dispute will have on investor confidence in The Gambian economy which
>>is
>> > already very low. I must say that Shelter Afrique's Management and
>>Board
>> > must be wondering what is going on in Banjul since they are
>>part-financing
>> > the project.
>> >
>> > Dr Jeng and others have outlined the land tenure system in The Gambia
>>wh
>> > ich
>> > is a good starting point. While I appreciate the concerns expressed by
>>the
>> > Manneh Kunda Kabilo of Brufut, I am also concerned about the net effect
>>of
>> > these disputes. First it was Bakau and now Brufut. The much
>>talked-about
>> > decentralisation of provincial administration, first mooted in the mid
>>80s
>> > must be given top priority by the Department of Local Government which,
>>if
>> > properly implemented, will obviate the need for constant central
>>government
>> > intervention on issues that are purely local in nature. Cheers!
>> >
>> > Sidi Sanneh
>> >
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
>>Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>>You may also send subscription requests to
>>[log in to unmask]
>>if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write
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>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>>From: Jabou Joh <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: State Land?
>>Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 16:41:05 EDT
>>
>>Hi Sidi,
>>
>>Good to hear from you, and I hope things go smoothly for you and the
>>family
>>in this transition. Thanks for your imput in this discussion, and i look
>>forward to your contrbution to this topic which I am sure will be
>>informative. I actually do not have a lot of knowledge about this issue
>>vis
>>a
>>vis what government has done or proposed to do in the past. I must
>>confess,
>>I
>>am just presenting my personal view of this situation and my ideas on the
>>issue. Again ,thanks.
>>
>>Regards,
>>Jabou Joh
>>
>>In a message dated 7/8/2001 3:23:16 PM Central Daylight Time,
>>[log in to unmask] writes:
>>
>> >
>> > Jabou, Dave and others,
>> >
>> > The role of Government in allocating land to private investors is an
>> > important issue which needs to be addressed urgently. I have very
>>little
>> > time these days as I wrap-up my affairs at the AfDB to start a new
>> > professional life. As soon as I have some free time, I will comment on
>> > this issue and the implications of having to abort TAF's project for
>>the
>> > second time running. I am concerned about the impact that the current
>> > dispute will have on investor confidence in The Gambian economy which
>>is
>> > already very low. I must say that Shelter Afrique's Management and
>>Board
>> > must be wondering what is going on in Banjul since they are
>>part-financing
>> > the project.
>> >
>> > Dr Jeng and others have outlined the land tenure system in The Gambia
>>wh
>> > ich
>> > is a good starting point. While I appreciate the concerns expressed by
>>the
>> > Manneh Kunda Kabilo of Brufut, I am also concerned about the net effect
>>of
>> > these disputes. First it was Bakau and now Brufut. The much
>>talked-about
>> > decentralisation of provincial administration, first mooted in the mid
>>80s
>> > must be given top priority by the Department of Local Government which,
>>if
>> > properly implemented, will obviate the need for constant central
>>government
>> > intervention on issues that are purely local in nature. Cheers!
>> >
>> > Sidi Sanneh
>> >
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
>>Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
>>You may also send subscription requests to
>>[log in to unmask]
>>if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write
>>your
>>full name and e-mail address.
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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