Mr Njie,
I had a reply ready for you, but the point I was going to make has been put across to you much more
eloquently by my uncle and cousin, so theirs will suffice.
Thanks
Sheikh Tejan Nyang wrote:
> 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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