By Madi Jobarteh
When the leader of the UDP Ousainou Darboe disclosed the illegal allocation of state land to Pres. Barrow, the Government spared no effort in also disclosing that the wife and daughter of Darboe were also allocated plots of state lands when he was in Government. Now Darboe has publicly clarified that those allocations to his family were indeed true but were done when he had left the Government. I am indeed concerned about this disclosure.
Be as it may, the point is, just as Adama Barrow must be told to return the land given to him, so also Darboe’s family members should return the land given to them. In that same vein, lands given to National Assembly Members, senior Government officials including ministers, and their families and friends from 2017 to date should all return the plots of land. There is no doubt that these people enjoyed this opportunity simply because they were current or former top officials or family members of these officials. Public office must not be used for self-enrichment.
Unless Darboe’s wife and daughter could prove that they do not own any other piece of land of their own, I hereby urge them to return the lands given to them as disclosed by Darboe himself. Lawyer Darboe may have left the Government at the time, but he is a former Vice President and a former foreign minister hence his influence and power are real. Thus, even if his immediate family members did not have their own pieces of land, there is need for caution for ethical reasons in their applying for State land given the fact that Darboe was a former Vice President and a minister.
In that case, Darboe, if he were to safeguard his integrity and credibility as a former top official, as well as the leader of the largest opposition party, should have advised his nuclear family members not to seek such opportunities lest it raises issues of ethics, undue advantage and influence. Therefore, in joining his call for the public to demand Barrow to return the land given to him illegally, I wish to also call on Darboe to ask his family members to also return the land given to them due to ethical considerations. We must practice what we preach.
There are farmers, teachers, nurses, police officers and indeed very many ordinary Gambians who do not have any land of their own nor do their spouses or children have any land because they do not have the means to buy a piece of land for themselves. Pres. Barrow and former Vice President Darboe do not belong to that category of the population. They are not in any unfavourable social, economic or political conditions such that they would need state land for either themselves or their immediate family members. By returning these lands, Barrow and Darboe would have demonstrated to Gambians their strong belief in values and the rule of law and their commitment to a just and fair Gambia of equal opportunities for all.
In the same vein, the following people were also allocated state lands in 2022 by Musa Drammeh when he was the Minister of Lands. They included current and former government officials and private citizens who should also return the lands given to them simply because these are individuals who already have their own plots of land. The Lands Act makes it a key requirement that those who already possess a piece of land do not qualify for allocation of state lands. Here are the names of individuals: former Vice President Dr. Isatou Touray, Minister Ebrima Sillah, Minister Bakary Badgie, Minister Dawda Jallow, Minister Amadou Lamin Samateh, Minister Fatou Kinteh, former minister Amie Fabureh, former minister Claudiana Cole, private citizen Saffiatou Samba Tangara, Presidential Advisor Alkali Conteh and private citizen Sheriff Tambadou.
State lands are not the property of the Government. The Gambia and her resources belong to all Gambians. The public resources of the Gambia do not exist for only Government officials hence the State does not exist for only those who work in the Government and for their families and friends. Therefore, we cannot entertain a system where when one works in the Government you are set to enjoy benefits, privileges and resources just because you are an official, and then extend such privilege to family and friends as well.
Since 2017, the public resources of the Gambia continue to be illegally and unethically shared among public officials and their families and friends without shame or fear and with impunity. It must stop. Therefore, I call on Pres. Barrow to conduct a thorough investigation of all state lands given, during his tenure to Government officials, National Assembly Members, and their families and friends to ensure that all illegal and unethical allocations are reversed forthwith. In this regard, I call on the National Assembly to open public hearings on state land allocations to public officials from 2017 to date to ensure that illegal and unethical allocations are reversed.
I hereby demand that the President take legal and disciplinary action against former and current Lands ministers Musa Drammeh and Hamat Bah respectively for illegally allocating lands to public officials, friends and family. Illegality, corruption and impunity must not prevail. Furthermore, the State Lands Act must be reviewed with urgency to ensure that it is not subject to abuse and self-aggrandizement by a tiny few to the detriment of the majority.
I call on all Gambians to raise their voices, to protest and to sue the Government in court for all illegal land allocations to Government officials and their families and friends. We should not allow public officials to turn our country into a booty to be shared among looters and pirates. Since 2017 the blatant abuse of office by top officials and their flagrant bastardization of public wealth must be confronted by all means and all perpetrators brought to justice. The supremacy of the Constitution and the laws of the Gambia must not be compromised but to be always respected and upheld by public officials.
For The Gambia Our Homeland
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Madi Jobarteh