Africa-Press – Gambia. Hatab Darboe, the newly elected president of the The Association of Real Estate Companies of The Gambia, ARECG has said the real estate landscape in The Gambia is evolving at an accelerated pace and to remain relevant, it must embrace innovation, leverage technology and elevate the value provided to customers.
Speaking on the heels of a public criticisms of the industry by the Minster of Lands, the new ARECG boss said the sector is confronted by real challenges that continue to hinder progress. He said these are delays in documentation, bureaucratic bottlenecks from alkalolu, Physical Planning, the Directorate of Lands, and the Ministry of Lands, which undermine customer confidence, especially in leasehold transactions.
He also argued that unclear land boundaries and inconsistent demarcation, particularly in rural areas, has led to costly legal disputes. “Imagine acquiring land with full documentation only to be told years later that it belongs to a neighbouring village. The legal and financial implications are devastating. This is a systemic failure we must resolve,” he said.
Mr Darbe said another challenge is delays in court judgements, explaining that land related court cases take unreasonably long to adjudicate, often exceeding the lifespans of the parties involved. “Developers who have invested significant capital face the risk of losing everything due to prolonged litigation”, he lamented.
The other challenge he said is that developers struggle to secure affordable financing adding that the cost of doing business has increased substantially and ARECG must advocate for relief—particularly in local taxation.
But he said despite these challenges, measurable progress has been made and ARECG continues to work closely with the Ministry of Lands and its relevant departments on the development of a National Land Policy which would streamline land administration, enhance institutional capacity and bring clarity to tenure systems—a historic win for the sector and for The Gambia.
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