Hamat NK Bah, Minister of Land, Regional Government and Religious Affairs
By Ramatoulie Jawo
Hon. Hamat NK. Bah, the Minister of Lands, Regional Government, and Religious Affairs, announced on Wednesday that the Government plans to build 10,000 houses by December 2025 to accommodate Gambian families in need.
Minister Bah made this announcement during a question-and-answer session at the National Assembly, responding to a query from Hon. Muhammed Kanteh, the National Assembly member for Busumbala. Hon. Kanteh had asked for an update on the availability of government reserve land for residential purposes within the Greater Banjul Area.
“This government believes that giving people a piece of land who do not have the means of survival is not the solution to our housing problems. Therefore, this government wants to have a change of policy; we want to build affordable houses for Gambians. We have requested two hundred thousand houses in the next ten years; for now, we are starting with ten thousand houses by December 2025, where we can house Gambian families who need it,” he told the lawmaker.
He further mentioned that the President has tasked him and his ministry with ensuring the success of a housing scheme that will benefit the Gambian people.
“And as a result of my engagement with these people, the Shelter Afrique Bank is due here on the 24th of this month; the UN-Habitat is also due here next week; and indeed, the BADEA Bank is waiting for our invitation from our finance minister as they want to hold their Annual General Meeting (AGM), in the Gambia. What we are left to do as a Government is to make sure we design the project, have the concept note and cost, and then to make sure that as soon as they come, we engage them in trying to raise the necessary funds to provide affordable housing to the Gambian people,” he revealed.
The Minister also identified reserve lands for residential purposes in Old Yundum, Yunna, Jamburr, and Mamuda. However, recent inspections have shown sporadic development and encroachment on these lands.
In a supplementary question, Hon. Kanteh asked what steps the ministry is taking to prevent encroachment on these reserve lands. In response, Minister Bah said he had established two committees last week to investigate these issues and report to the government, which will take appropriate measures to address them.
“I have also tasked the departments through Permanent Secretaries and Directors to make sure that we start the process of land banking in the country, because when you don’t bank the land when this project comes, you will have nowhere to put them. I want to say that these houses will not all be built in the greater Banjul area; they will be spread throughout the Gambia. Hon. Kanteh further questioned whether there was any existing policy regulating reserve lands, to which Minister Bah responded that no comprehensive policy had been in place for over 50 years. However, he assured that by April 2025, a policy would be rolled out with support from the World Bank.
“Is the policy that dictates the strategy that you can use to make sure you deliver the dividend of democracy when it comes to land to the people of the Gambia,” he said.