By Landing Ceesay
Hon. Hamat NK Bah, the outgoing Minister of Tourism and Culture, described allegations leveled against his Ministry regarding the sale of lands in the Tourism Development Areas (TDAs) as “bogus lies.”
The Ministry of Tourism and Culture convened a Press Conference on Wednesday to provide the public with updates on its accomplishments from 2017 up to the present.
The Press Conference was presided over by the outgoing Minister, Honourable Bah, who has been reassigned as the Minister of Lands, Regional Governments, and Religious Affairs.
During the session, Honourable Bah highlighted significant achievements during his tenure as the Minister of Tourism and Culture before opening the floor to questions from the media. Among the questions raised during the Q&A session was one from a reporter regarding construction activities in the TDA area and allegations of land sales to foreign entities by the ministry.
“Those are bogus lies, let anybody come up with the proof. That is bogus from the bogus people posting things on social media. You cannot relay allegations of people with ill intentions who will write bogus things. You are reading from social media posts by people who are not accessible to you for punishment,” Hon. Hamat NK Bah responded.
Although he dismissed the accusations as “bogus lies,” Honourable Bah maintained that the lands were assigned in accordance with established regulations. When pressed on the allocation procedures, Honorable Bah reacted with further indignation towards the inquiry.
“You should be proud as a Gambian to see those structures there. How did you convince those investors to come and invest there? You better be proud of the project you have been seeing there. You better be proud of the Gambians who are going to be employed there. You better be proud of the number of arrivals that will come. You better be proud of the number of taxes the government is going to collect. What are you telling me?” Hon. Bah stated.
Honourable Hamat NK Bah has been a steadfast member of President Adama Barrow’s administration, serving as a minister since 2017. He assumed his role following President Barrow’s victory over exiled former President Yahya Jammeh in the December 2016 elections.