By Fatou Sillah
The director general of the Gambia Tourism Board (GTB), Abubacarr S. Camara, appeared before the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee on Monday to testify regarding the allocation and disposal of lands linked to former President Yahya Jammeh.
In his testimony, Mr. Camara said he could not recall receiving any official instructions to cancel leases on properties within the Tourism Development Area (TDA) that had been allocated to the former president.
“Not to my knowledge. Although I used to hear that, all those things have been canceled and reverted to the GT board or to the government,” he told the committee.
He presented a letter detailing properties identified by the Janneh Commission as leased to Mr. Jammeh or his associates, some of which had reportedly been canceled.
When questioned by counsel Aji Sainey Kah about how leases could be canceled without official notification, Mr. Camara clarified that the GTB was not responsible for revoking leases. “To be very frank with you, when I received these documents from counsel, it was a surprise to me that all these land areas used to belong to the former president,” he said.
He testified that after forwarding the documents to the technical team, they were able to identify certain lands that had been allocated and were considered part of the former president’s lease.
The witness provided details on properties leased to Jammeh under the TDA, noting that the Cultural Center at Kotu Point spans six hectares. Other allocations include areas leased to Gamex, Hatib Janneh, Kerr Gui, Palma Luxurious, the Ebrima and Ida Jacobson Drammeh Resort, Sky Limit, and Gamex TK Motors, among others.
Counsel Sainey asked, “So these allocations, were they all after 2019, or did they precede the conclusion of the Janneh commission?”
The witness clarified, “There is what is called provisional allocations; that is, when somebody completes the requirements and they are asked to pay the 5%, so the actual day of the signing of the letter is what we put in the database, but the allocations were already given to them before I became DG.”
Counsel Saine Kah questioned the witness about land allocations at Kotu Point, noting that multiple individuals had been granted plots there. The witness expressed surprise that all the land was reportedly under a lease held by the former president, explaining that many allocations predated his tenure as Director General of the Gambia Tourism Board.
He clarified that Hatib Janneh’s lease was longstanding, while Garmex had received a provisional allocation prior to his appointment as DG. During his tenure, he said, Alkamba Tours was allocated land, although he was unaware of previous recipients. He also noted that Kerr Gui had been allocated land before he assumed office.
Counsel Kah asked for confirmation, “So at Kotu Point, all of these people were allocated land there. The new ones, nobody aside from the GT Board had any stake in it.”
The witness responded that, to his knowledge, no one else held claims. He also provided testimony regarding the Sanyang Quarry intercede, noting that the area is currently occupied by the deep-sea port in Sanyang. He added that there is no land remaining along the Tanji River side, as all parcels have been allocated.