Mr. Sidibeh,

Brace yourself for more frustration and disappointment. Leasing property in The Gambia? Geese! Sidibeh, the procedures are uncountable and the key players so many that you sometimes do not know what to do or think. My advise to you is to contact a real estate dealer or some freelance surveyor to lease it for you, at a fee. I can assure you that you are better off doing so. I myself had to resort to the same some years ago when I wanted my property leased.

As for birth certificates, driver's license, National ID cards, passports etc, these have been decentralised a few years ago. The processing of such documents can be done at a good number of places throughout the country and should not normally take more than a few hours or days. However, if you find someone who seems to think that he/she is doing you a favour, then you have a problem. I cannot also understand why they can ever run out of forms or the actual documents. Definitely, securing these documents can be a real pain sometimes.