By Ousman Saidykhan
Three activists from The Gambia are preparing to formally submit a petition to the clerk of the National Assembly on September 11, 2024. The petition requests a parliamentary inquiry into the allocation of State Lands, explicitly focusing on the period from January 1, 2017, to December 2023.
These activists seek to bring attention to and raise questions about the process and decisions surrounding the allocation of State Lands during this time frame.
Madi Jobarteh, Baboucarr Nyang, and Omar Camara advocate for a comprehensive probe into allocating state lands and who received them, including state and non-state officials, individuals, and businesses.
“We wish to request the Public Petitions Committee to consider our petition to open an inquiry on the matter to ensure that these land allocations followed the rule of law and ethical standards,” the activists said.
The petitioners said they seek to ensure “transparency and accountability in the conduct of public affairs and the management of public resources.”
“We hope the Public Petitions Committee will find our petition fit and admissible.”
“The dream of a Better Gambia that we deserve rests on the role citizens play to ensure that the principles of democratic governance, human rights, and the rule of law are respected and upheld by public institutions and officials at all times,” said the petitioners.
The trio urged citizens to undertake “all legal, democratic, and peaceful means to fully and actively participate in the governance and development of our dear motherland.”
The controversy over land allocation heightened after former Minister of Lands, Regional Government, and Religious Affairs Hamat Bah confirmed that President Adama Barrow was allocated a plot of state land on Atlantic Road, Fajara.
The minister also accused Ousainou Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), and his family of having benefited from state allocation when the opposition leader asked President Barrow to return the piece of land allocated to him.
However, Darboe responded that the allocations to his family happened when he was out of the government.
Despite that, Gambians, home and abroad, frowned at the allocations that many believed were wrong.
