Dave,
Lets be objective in our thinking. Take examples of developments in Senegal, Ghana and other countries
.Development is initiated by companies and this is the case with TAF . Don't see him as Tapha Njie but what
his company stands for. How many years has the land been under utilize ? How many of the families are still
engage in farming in that land ? I am sure most of them have not even ever farmed in there entire life. If
they have a genuine claim for the land as customary tenants let them show prove of payment of rates for the
past years to be able to claim ownership and in the absence of that, the land belong to the state that has
allocated it to TAF. I am sure TAF will be more than willing to compensated those effected that have genuine
claims. I will not hesitate to say it, Tapha Njie is a WOLLOF AND NOTHING ELSE . May Allah help us with the
disease that is worst than AIDS.
Chi Jamma,
Dave Manneh wrote:
> Culled from the Observer.
>
> Makes an interesting reading as it seems that TAF Njie too has got the "
> BUG". That disease of greed that unfortunately seems to be gripping the
> Gambian Business community.
> Just because The Gambia is unfortunate to be lumbered with a bunch of
> idiots as a government should not warranty the few Gambian Businesses we
> all look up to, to become self-obsessed with making millions whilst
> trampling on the rights of poor innocent citizens.
>
> Tuesday, July 3, 2001
> BRUFUT ELDERS PETITION
> JAMMEH OVER TAF LAND
> ALLOCATION
>
> The elders and people of Brufut, Manneh Kunda Kabilo,
> last week
> petitioned President Jammeh over the allocation of a
> swathe of
> land which they claimed belonged to the community of
> Manneh
> Kunda Kabilo in Brufut to Taf Construction by the
> Department of
> State for Local Government and Lands. The petition
> which was
> signed and thumbprinted by Kajali Manneh, Kijera
> Manneh,
> Amadou Manneh, Kebba Musa Manneh, Omar Manneh and
> Kebba Jatta was also sent to all secretaries of state,
> commissioner,
> Western Division, director of lands and surveys, seyfo
> of Kombo
> North and the alkalo of Brufut.
>
> Below is the full text of the petition: Your
> Excellency, We feel
> deeply honoured to bring to your attention a serious
> land problem
> currently taking place between the Manneh Kunda Kabilo
> of
> Brufut and the local government authorities. The past
> few weeks
> have witnessed serious confrontations between the
> people of
> Manneh Kunda Kabilo, local government authorities and
> Mustapha Njie of Taf Construction. After the
> controversial
> housing scheme called Operation House the Nation at
> Bakau
> failed, Taf Construction has again been allocated a
> vast stretch of
> our land in Brufut by the local government authorities.
> We learnt
> of this allocation by demarcation pegs without any
> prior
> consultation between the relevant authorities and
> traditional
> landowners.
>
> On seeing the pegs, we made appointments and met first
> with the
> director of lands and surveys and then with the
> secretary of state
> for local government and lands on February 26, 2001. At
> both
> meetings, we were informed that the area was allocated
> to Taf
> Construction and on each occasion, we expressed our
> concerns
> about the allocation and appealed for a reconsideration
> of the
> decision as we had already allocated the land area to
> some 300
> youths of the Kabilo who are still in family compounds
> and are
> without land to build houses for their families.
>
> The meeting with local government and lands secretary
> concluded
> with an agreement that a technical team would be sent
> within the
> shortest possible time to further discuss the issue
> with us. What
> we saw the following day (February 27, 2001) and indeed
> to our
> dismay, was a team from Taf Construction putting up
> more
> demarcation pegs in the area. This was baffling and
> irritating to us,
> as it was inconsistent with the agreement we had
> previously with
> the secretary of state for local government and lands.
> After all
> these, we were invited to a meeting at the tribunal of
> the district
> Seyfo on Sunday March 11, 2001. In attendance at this
> meeting
> were the commissioner of Western Division, the district
> seyfo, the
> National Assembly member for Kombo North, Brufut
> village alkalo,
> elders of Manneh Kunda Kabilo, representatives of
> Brufut Village
> Development Committee and a representative from Taf
> Construction amongst others.
>
> At this meeting, we were told that government has
> allocated our
> land to Mustapha Njie as compensation for the land that
> was
> previously allocated to him in connection with
> Operation House
> the Nation but subsequently withdrawn. We expressed our
>
> concerns and total rejection of the project because we
> believed it
> was unacceptable for a single man to benefit at the
> expense of
> thousands of underprivileged people of Brufut. The
> meeting ended
> in a stalemate.
>
> On March 18, 2001, we were invited to another meeting
> at the
> tribunal of the district Seyfo. This meeting was
> attended by the
> commissioner of Western Division, the district seyfo,
> the National
> Assembly member for Kombo North, an officer from the
> Department of Physical Planning, alkalo of Brufut,
> Manneh Kunda
> Kabilo representatives and a representative from Taf
> Construction.
> At the meeting, we again emphasised and reaffirmed our
> concerns
> over the landlessness of our youths and the negative
> impact the
> project would have on the livelihood of over 400
> households in
> Manneh Kunda.
>
> Here at stake is the enrichment of one person and the
> future
> livelihood of over 2000 persons who cannot afford a
> house in the
> scheme. This meeting too ended in a stalemate. On hand,
> Your
> Excellency, we wish to inform you that vast areas of
> Brufut land
> have already been allocated; instances of such
> allocations are the
> Brusubi Housing Scheme on the East, TDA on the North
> and the
> Wildlife Reserve Area on the West of Brufut. In
> essence, we are
> left with very little land to accommodate our coming
> generations
> and it is unbearably difficult for us to create a
> gloomy future of our
> children and enrich a single person. We have the
> confidence that
> your government is by the people and for the people and
> the
> livelihood of a people is more paramount to you than an
> individual
> economic interest.
>
> Your Excellency, we are bringing this crisis to your
> attention for
> your quick intervention in the light of the concern you
> have for the
> poor and downtrodden. If the government were to have
> educational or other development projects that would go
> directly
> to benefit the people, definitely we would not have had
> any
> objection but giving our land to a single rich man just
> to make him
> richer is disheartening and intolerable. Finally, while
> we await your
> intervention, we wish to assure you that we will remain
> peaceful
> and law-abiding until justice takes its course. We
> thank you in
> advance for your due consideration of this matter.
>
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