Sukuta Diaspora Petitions President Barrow on Salagie Forest

December 10, 2024                                                   

Dear Mr. President,    

Open Letter Regarding De-Reserving of Salagie Forest                                           

We, the members of the Sukuta diaspora in the United States and Canada, write to express our deepest concerns regarding the recent decision to de-reserve a substantial portion of the Salagie forest and allocate it to a private entity, The Gambia Angola China Holdings (GACH), for the establishment of a basalt depot. This issue has sparked significant discontent among the people of Sukuta and Kombo in general and among environmental and forestry advocates committed to preserving our natural resources.     

 The rationale provided by your government, mainly through the statements made by Ministers of Information and Environment Dr. Ismaila Ceesay and Rohey John Manjang, has raised serious questions about the true intent behind this decision. Minister Ceesay's claim during his appearance on “Coffee Time with Peter Gomez” that only a tiny, unvegetated portion of the forest was de-reserved is not in accord with the visible activities of GACH on-site, which indicates a far more extensive encroachment than was suggested.  Equally, as asserted by both Ministers Ceesay and Manjang, the government's position is that this de-reserving is a temporary measure driven by pressing national demands. There is a lack of clarity regarding the timeline and specifics of this temporary arrangement, especially as GACH has begun constructing permanent structures on the site. This apparent contradiction between the government's stated intentions and observed actions by GACH creates a sense of skepticism among the people of Sukuta and Kombo. Furthermore, Minister Manjang's statement about the government's goal to balance development with environmental stewardship presents an important perspective.

  However, it may be worth considering the broader implications of sacrificing an established protected forest, especially when barren lands elsewhere in the country could potentially be repurposed for such initiatives. Your Excellency may recall that in 1977, the first president of The Gambia, Sir Dawda K. Jawara, made a significant commitment to environmental stewardship amidst the challenges posed              

    by urbanization through what is now known as the Banjul Declaration.  In this landmark declaration, Sir Dawda emphasized the Gambia government's dedication to the untiring efforts to conserve "as wide a spectrum as possible of our remaining fauna and flora for both present and future generations."        It is with great concern that we note the recent actions of the Minister of Environment, which diverge from this pivotal national promise. During a stakeholders' meeting at the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Natural Resources (MECCNAR) on November 4, 2024, participants expressed concerns to the Honorable Minister Manjang about the proposed site for the GACH basalt depot in the Salagie forest. While the Minister conveyed that the decision might be final, many attendees felt the matter required further review. The absence of a comprehensive due process, including an environmental impact assessment and community engagement before the land allocation, heightens potential risk concerns. This is particularly relevant given the proximity of NAWEC's water distribution boreholes that serve the Greater Banjul Area.  

 Given these considerations, it may be prudent for the Minister to pause any development until procedural and policy guidelines are followed. Legal perspectives suggest that while the Minister has the authority to de-reserve parts of a forest park for public good, this authority is contingent on environmental assessments and community involvement. Revisiting this decision in line with sound governance principles will strengthen our commitment to environmental stewardship. The foregoing situation highlights a troubling pattern of successive government land appropriation that has historically marginalized communities in Kombo. The case of the Kebba Kunda Kabilo in Sukuta is a poignant example of families being displaced from their lands for the Salagie layout development. Despite receiving approved letters in 2021 from the Ministry of Lands for plot compensations, the Kebba Kunda families still await the promised plots. It has been three years since these letters of commitment were issued, and affected families continue to endure with no recourse to their rights and deserving of 

  fair treatment.  The           government is responsible for engaging with its citizens transparently and respectfully, especially in matters affecting their lives and livelihoods. We implore you to reconsider the decision to de-reserve the Salagie forest and initiate genuine actions that ensure the voices of the people are heard and that their rights to their communal lands are upheld. We respectfully request that you prioritize and expedite the necessary actions regarding the promised compensation plots for the families affected in Kebba Kunda Kabilo, Sukuta.Your considerations will help restore trust between the government and the people.   A trust anchored in a sincere commitment to transparency, accountability, and environmental stewardship will not only benefit the communities directly affected but enhance your administration's credibility.

We appreciate your attention to these urgent matters and look forward to a positive action reflecting your commitment to the welfare of the people of Sukuta and Kombo.

                  Sincerely,                                                                         

Dr. Dawda M Touray|                           Secretary General

North America Sukuta Association Inc., NASUA | 

Phone: (502)-526-1623 | (678)-933-7026 | (513)-415-2845 |

| 6475 Sage Street, Atlanta, GA 30340 | 

Email:                      info@northamericasukutaassociation.org | sukuta.gambia@gmail.com |

https://northamericasukutaassociation. org/contact-us

DISCLOSURE: North America Sukuta Association, Inc. is a charitable not-for-profit public international relief organization incorporated in the U.S. state of Georgia and designated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a 501 (C) (3) charitable organization. 

Distributed:

- The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Natural Resources (MECCNAR) - The Gambia National Assembly

- National Human Rights Commission, The Gambia

- The Gambia Bar Association

- All Political Parties

- All NGOs & Civil Society Organizations

- All Print, Broadcast, and Social Media entities

- The Gambia Environment Alliance (GEA) - GACH Company

- Sukuta VDC - Kombo Yiriwa Kafo

 July 15, 2020 

Dear Hon. Darboe,

I write to you as a Kombo native; and as a Gambian, to express my concern at the continuing expropriation of customary lands. The gravity of the crisis is causing a sense of insecurity in Kombo’s traditional landowners.

As leader of the nation’s largest political party; with a likelihood of forming the next government, I would hope your party shares these worries. Uniquely, unlike other party leaders, you have first-hand knowledge of the acute nature of Kombo Lands issues – an experience gained from years of legal representation in land-related lawsuits.
Scrutiny is a certainty when a person of your political prominence weighs in on a vexing national socio-political matter. Thus, I, and I suppose many others, watched your interview on 20th June 2020, on UDP TV YouTube channel with alertness. The expression of your learned opinion was remarkable.

The said land laws crafted to lack clarity increased the capacity for unscrupulous officials to execute the said laws with calculated misreading & misinterpretation.
The consequence is a devastating assault on

 Kombonkas’ inheritance. ”  Your revelation about the discriminatory application of the land laws confirmed what many know. But it was refreshing to hear it from a man of your legal repute. Brufut Kajarbang and Yundum Yarambamba cases are notorious examples. The resulting effect created gross economic disparities between the customary landowners and a private estate developer. The recent upheaval in Sukuta-Salagi illustrated a tipping point and a sampler of what could come. I am heartened to notice you did not dismiss the development as mere alarmist fussing. The Kombo Lands issue deserves our undivided attention. At this sensitive juncture, all responsible Gambians ought to spare no effort in addressing issues that inflame emotions and create intercommunal discord. It would be a severe dereliction of duty to stand by whilst divisive legacies engineered by previous governments continue to wreak havoc on the nation’s social fabric. The public declaration of your intent that upon forming a government, your party would set up policies to ‘regularize land tenure and land administration’ laws elated me. And I am certain you thrilled many Kombonkas likewise. We are confident the corrective measures a future UDP government would institute, would be efficient and robust enough to stop the dispossessions. We understood such a public reassurance from you as an unambiguous signal of your intent, not mere virtue signaling. 

 This has not gone unnoticed by Kombonkas—both at home and abroad,” he said. We recommend introducing a bill that will enact laws with the power to declare a moratorium on all land transactions for twelve (12) months. This ban should include sales, registrations, and transfers. Proposed a bill that will compel the administration to set up a technical committee. This committee will investigate frameworks and strategies for a comprehensive survey of Kombo Lands. It is essential to prove who owns what,; where, and how. Resolving the Kombo Lands issue requires a comprehensive strategy rather than mere crisis management. As appropriate, we recommend first: introducing a bill that vests the oversight and scrutiny for selecting commissioners on the National Assembly. Second, an inclusive commission made up of eminently qualified Gambians should be set up  to investigate the land issues. For balance and fairness, the commission must include members of the affected community. Thus, the State should give Kombo indigenes the privilege to interrogate the suitability of commission membership. In addition, Kombo should nominate a list of its native ‘elder,’ ‘intellectuals’,’ and other professionals as its representatives in the commission. 

Sincerely,

Lamin D F Manneh

United Kingdom

April 22, 2018 

Dear Hon. Ousainou Darboe,   

I am compelled to write to you not only in your capacity as the Party leader of UDP but also as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of The Gambia and a close person to HE Adama Barrow- The President of the Republic of the Gambia.
Sir, I believe you must have heard about the Golden Lead Sagga at Gunjur Beach, which has been going on for over a year now, and it seems all the outcries from the local community and environmental activists are falling on a deaf ear. In case you are unaware, I just wanted to give you a brief synopsis: Golden Lead Fish Processing Factory is a Chinese company operating in Gunjur, in Kombo South. Their operation is not only detrimental to our environment but a serious threat to our fisheries resources. Sometime last year, they were found by the National Environment Agency to be contravening our environmental laws by discharging wastewater into the wetland ecosystem of the nearby Bolongfenyo Community Wildlife Reserve and the environs. Due to the severity of their offenses, the National Environment Agency decided to drag them to court to face the consequences. However, somewhere down the line, obstruction of justice occurred, and the National Environment Agency was asked to settle the matter out of court with the defendant. 

  Sir, since then, nobody knows the tail and head of this so-called "out-of-court settlement." The problem stopped for a while, but they continued again until the community decided that enough was enough and took the law into their own hands by excavating the buried pipe connected from the factory to the ocean. Following the pipe removal, Gunjur Police 

 intervened by inviting one of   the community members to question why the pipe was removed.   Sir, it is interesting to note that the Majority leader of your party resides within the community where the Chinese Fishmeal factory is being operated, but the man has been so silent about the issue despite his campaign promises that he will fight against environmental injustice in Kombo South. This raises more questions about his connection with the top management of the company. If these allegation are right (which I cannot verify at this stage) then it will not be a good name to your party.  

Sir, to be quite honest, when Gambia renewed bilateral cooperation with China, I was so worried, not because they are not good people but because they are the most hard-working people I have ever known. But they are have bad history of natural resources overexploitation across Africa. Withina short period of history, the Gambia lost forest cover, and a greater percentage of deforestation i  a result of Illegal timber export to China. According to the Janneh Commission, an estimated number of 11,200 containers of timber passed through the  Gambia to China between 2012-2016. 

 Sir, since then, nobody knows the tail and head of this so-called "out-of-court settlement." The problem stopped for a while, but within a short period of history, the Gambia lost forest cover, and a more significant percentage of deforestation. It continued again until the community decided that enough was enough and took the law into their own hands by excavating the buried pipe connected from the factory to the ocean. Following the pipe removal, Gunjur Police intervened by inviting one of the community members to question why the pipe was removed. 

   Sir, it is interesting to note that the Majority leader of your party resides within the community where the Chinese Fishmeal factory is being operated, but the man has been so silent about the issue despite his campaign promises that he will fight against environmental injustice in Kombo South.    

This raises more questions about his connection with the top management of the company. If these allegations are right (which I cannot verify at this stage), it will not be a good name for your party.    

Sir, to be quite honest, when Gambia renewed bilateral cooperation with China, I was so worried not because they were not good people- in fact, they were the hardest-working people I have ever known. However, they have a bad history of natural resource overexploitation across Africa. Within a short period of history, the Gambia lost forest cover, and a greater percentage of deforestation i  a result of Illegal timber export to China. According to the Janneh Commission, an estimated number of 11,200 containers of timber passed through the  Gambia to China between 2012-2016. Since we didn't approve their application.   In a nutshell, I thought I would drop you this short piece of information for your consideration at your high-level meeting with the President and the cabinet members. The world is watching us, and the Gambia is a signatory to various regional and International conventions and agreements geared towards protecting our coastal and marine environment. Therefore, we have an obligation to protect our environment and abide by the objectives of the signed Conventions. I am confident that you are in an ideal position to effect changes in the system, and also, you are a good listener who was in the struggle for over 22 years, so you clearly have an understanding of a frustrated community that wants nothing but to respect fundamental human rights. 

Wish you all the best. 

Famara Drammeh

Maryland, USA