Dear Koto Sidi and others,
I've been reading some, but by no means all, of the postings on the issue of state
land/TAF Construction/Brufut Manneh Kabilo thing, and it's been interesting and
educating. We are clearly dealing with a very complex subject that generates a lot
of emotions, and understandably so. However, I should point out that some of the
venom and abuses that have been thrown are unjustified, and sadly muddle the debate.
I am no land tenure expert. For this reason, the little I have to say on the topic
is dictated more by common sense than formal training, and technical knowledge. With
that said, I'd like to add these observations:
1. I will declare that Mustapha Njie (aka Yahi) is a personal friend, and one whose
hard work and entrepreneurism I have always respected. Indeed, it was just a few
weeks ago that I sent him an unsolicited e-mail after I read online that his company,
TAF Construction (or Holding Company) had donated some wheel chairs to needy people
in The Gambia. I thought that was a wonderful gesture that deserved praise, and
encouragement.
Since the start of the debate about the Brufut land dispute, I thought it would be
great if TAF Construction would explain their case through a press release and/or a
posting to Gambia-L. Not that Gambia-L is a real big thing in the scheme of things.
But such a statement would at least acknowledge the fact that this forum provide Mr.
Njie, a year or so ago, a fairly significant means of publicizing his US trip to
promote his Sinchu Yahi housing project. Given the many praises he was showered with
on this list by people who attended his presentations, I thought it would have been
proper to put out something to explain their position. I still hope that they do,
because it would help even the debate.
I should also say that even though it has been explained that the Brufut land was
allocated to TAF Construction in compensation for land previously allocated, and
subsequently repossessed by the government, I think it would have helped to explain
exactly under what circumstances the first allocation happened. In my opinion, if
TAF Construction obtained the first allocation in a transparent and above-board
manner, then they would have been able to contest their case in court, rather than
wait to be compensated another plot of land. If, on the other hand, TAF Construction
got the first parcel through some shady, under-the-table deal, then they have nobody
to blame but themselves because they succumbed to the temptation of convenience (even
corruption), rather than standing up for the right, and defensible thing. In the
later case, they, as the saying goes, are now reaping what they sowed.
I think it is still not too late for TAF Construction to come out and say exactly how
they got the first parcel of land allocated to them, how they lost it, and finally,
how they ended up with this piece of land being disputed in Brufut. Such a statement
will not only help clear the air, it would also serve a valuable lesson to other
investors (Gambian and foreign) that intend to, or do business in The Gambia. The
fact of the matter is that accountability and the security of investments are of
paramount importance to building investor confidence if, that is, we are at all
serious about attracting investors to our country.
2. In the absence of any statement from TAF Construction (by the way, and/or The
Gambia government) on the matter, I would suggest that the people of Brufut take
certain steps to protect their rights. First, they should sue. The basic thrust of
such an action would be to obtain a cease-and-desist order which will be served on
TAF Construction or any party that aims to develop the land being disputed. Besides
bringing the full weight of the courts to bear on the issue, such a step would also
dampen the appetite of any prospective buyers, and consequently reduce the
attractiveness of the development project. In addition, it would also serve notice
to other communities facing these circumstances that there are indeed options
available to them in their efforts to ensure that they don't get bulldozed
(figuratively and literally) by mightier and richer people.
3. With regards literature on land tenure in The Gambia, I would like to say that
Koto Sidi's reference to the then ODA (now DFID) study about land resources in The
Gambia sure rings a bell. However, I don't think that publication dealt as
extensively with land tenure, as it did other physical and natural resources issues
(soil types, rainfall distribution, etc.). I'm not exactly sure, but that's what I
vaguely recall.
Fortunately, the Land Tenure Center (LTC) of the Univ. of Wisconsin that Koto Sidi
mentioned has done work in The Gambia. Their library has also an impressive
collection of land tenure and related material, and I remember finding a very
interesting publication there a number of years ago. To digress a bit, it was early
1994, and I thought it would be a good idea to organize a national conference in 1995
(our 30th Independence Anniversary) to discuss where we had been, and were we were
headed to as a nation. The idea was to bring together Gambians from all walks of
life to discuss our country and exchange ideas about strategies for national
development. As you can imagine, those plans were overtaken by events (namely the
July '94 'coup), but I still remember some of the interesting publications I came
across in doing research about the planned conference.
One of those publications was a gazette or something like that that detailed the
meeting in Georgetown, MID, in 1963 between the Lieutenant Gov. General and the
Chiefs of The Gambia. What I still remember about it is the speech given by the
Lieutenant Gov. General in which he asked the attendants to wish the Veterinary
Officer Jawara well, since he was leaving government service to join politics. It
was a very interesting paper!
Any way, I did find the LTC Web site, and their list of publications. Thankfully,
some of them were about land tenure in The Gambia, and better yet, available online.
The publications include two research papers (RP) and a working paper (WP). The
publications are:
RP 114: "Institutions and Natural Resource Management in The Gambia: A Case Study of
the Foni Jarrol District," edited by Mark Schoonmaker Freudenberger, with
contributions from Tor Claussen, Susan Gannon, and Demba Komma. July 1993. 112 p.
$7.00 (United States, Canada, Western Europe, Japan; free elsewhere)
RP 126: "Land Rights and Intra-Household Employment and Resource Use in the
Peri-Urban Area of Banjul, The Gambia," by Michael Roth, Ben Carr, and Jeff Cochrane.
January 1996. 110 p. $7.00 (United States, Canada, Western Europe, Japan; free
elsewhere)
WP 40: "Tenure and Natural Resources in the Gambia: Summary of Research Findings and
Policy Options," by Mark Schoonmaker Freudenberger. August 2000. 233 p. $12.00
(United States, Canada, Western Europe, Japan; free elsewhere) Also available on-line
Here is the link to the publications page of the LTC.
http://www.wisc.edu/ltc/apl.html
I hope the above references help.
And to Haruna Darbo, who thought I was wasting my time responding to President
Jammeh's incoherent speech, I would like to say that what's important is not the time
you take to say what you say, but the point you make. My posting on the matter was
meant to show that it only took common sense and basic arithmetic to disprove what
President Jammeh was bragging about in public. The fact of the matter is that they
have to be reminded that we will always fight their arrogance, and crudeness with
finesse and facts. And in the end, the Gambian people, who are no fools (even though
they might be cowed) will decide who's telling the truth.
Thanks for reading this far, and please pardon me for the rather long posting! Have
a great week, and best wishes.
Katim
----- Original Message -----
From: Sidi Sanneh <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2001 3:29 AM
Subject: Re: Mr. Sanneh and Jobou -State Land?
> Lamin Manneh PF,
>
> I promised myself not to comment further on this particular issue but your
> posting deserves at least an acknowledgement of the unemotional manner you
> handled this delicate issue.
>
> My position has been and continues to be that the land tenure issue needs
> to be revisited to further rationalise the classification procedure to take
> account of local/traditional tenure systems, sectoral requirements etc. The
> review will certainly take into account not only the investor's interest
> but also the equity issue raised by Jabou.
>
> The Overseas Development Administration (ODA) published a study
> entitled "Land Resources Survey of The Gambia" in , I believe, 1972 which
> is a good starting point. Dr Jeng of N
> ARI who contributed earlier in the
> discussion should be able to assist since he is/was in possession on the
> only copy I had but I am sure those in the UK can get a copy from DFID.
> Katim Touray and Mini may wish to check with the Land Tenure Center of UW-
> Madison to see if a copy is available in their excellent library.
>
> I thank you Mr. Manneh PF, for your valuable contribution to this important
> issue which requires the urgent attention of Government in addition to the
> related issue of decentralisation of local government administration.
>
> Sidi Sanneh
>
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