Africa-Press – Gambia. A recent investigative report published by Malagen has ignited a firestorm of controversy. The report alleged that a significant tract of land, equivalent to over thirty football fields, has been quietly parcelled out from the Tanji Bird Reserve by government to lawyer and politician Essa Faal, Senegalese businessman Khalilou Wague, and Indian businessman Nandkishore Rajwani among others.
The protected bird sanctuary was first violated by former president Jammeh who gave it out to a former Ivorian first lady and later grabbed it for his Kanila Farm.
It was however recommended by the Janneh Commission to be returned for its use, a protected wild life resort. However, according to Malagen, the new government decided to allocate it to people.
The report spread like a bush fire prompting calls for the land to be returned to its designated use, a bird sanctuary.
Mr Faal in a swift response yesterday said in the first place, he has no land in his possession to return.
He admitted though that he did attempt to invest in the Gambian tourism sector in 2018 when he was encouraged by the then-Managing Director of the Gambia Tourism Board (GTB) to invest in the country.
The leader of the Sobeyaa-APP Alliance further disclosed that he had been trying to secure land since 2010 and was assured that the new Barrow government was open to Gambian- owned investment, and accordingly submitted an application in 2019, investing significant funds in planning and paying the required fees.
Faal also detailed a process that included provisional approval, a meeting with President Barrow who advised him to pay the required sum and that was when he made a payment of a non-refundable development levy of $125,000 in addition to D55,000 land allocation application fee.
He stated that he was eventually given provisional allocation in the Sanementereng sacred shrine area. “However, things took a turn after I announced my intention to run for president in the 2021 elections, as I was later informed that my building permit application was blocked, and the Director of Parks and Wildlife is claiming that the allocated area was part of the protected bird sanctuary, sparking a dispute over the boundaries of the reserve,” he said.
Mr Faal’s stated that he was not allowed to build on the land, nor was his money refunded.
Faal statement concluded with a strong defence of his actions, emphasising that he followed due process and has never gained access to the land.
”So I have no land to return,” he said.
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