By Buba Gagigo
In a write up posted on his Facebook page on Friday, Lt. Colonel Samsudeen Sarr (Rtd), has expressed his support for the Minister of Local Government and Lands, Hon. Musa Drammeh, in the land allocation made out to the Vice President, some cabinet ministers and some high profile individuals that has been the subject of intense debate among Gambians, home and abroad.
The retired colonel made the following attestation in the write up:
“I can attest with certainty that the minister concerned Hon. Drammeh acted per the land allocation rights vested in him and enshrined under the Land Administration Laws under section 11A of the State Lands Act 1991 CAP 57:02 Laws of The Gambia and also under Regulation 8 of the State Lands Regulation”.
Col. Sarr, in his write-up, also took umbrage at the characterisation of the allotees. He explained that ministers and other beneficiaries characterised by critics as receiving unjustified donees have never been allocated land before. He further stated that the land in question is state owned land when the allocations were made and that the minister acted within the confines of the law.
“It was actually a decision made by a government-constituted-land commission like any other commission mandated to act on the legal guidelines of an important transaction. So, any attempt to blame Hon. Musa Drammeh for executing a collective responsibility will be unfair on him and blatantly disingenuous to say the least. How deceitful can we be to pretend as if previous governments of The Gambia hadn’t in the past allocated land through this ministry to uncountable number of public servants, including ministers, military officers, and private citizens?”
He referenced other government allocations made during the first and second republics.
“How long ago was it for Gambians to forget such layouts as in Kanifing East, Kotu East, Fajara, Pipeline, Bijilo, Cape Point, among others, that were launched by the previous two Governments and distributed to civil servants, ministers, business owners, military officers and other eligible Gambians?”
He blamed what he called rogue oppostion elements for trying to create an imbroglio for the minister and the government.
“We have to realized that there is nothing new or strange about what the minister Hon Musa Drammeh has done to trigger the unprecedented brouhaha on social media propagated by none other than rogue opposition elements vying to score cheap political points”.
He concluded by saying that he is privy to a list of many recipients in the past whose names if published, will embarrass a lot of people.
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