Hon. Hamat NK Bah, Minister of Local Government and Lands
By Fatou Sillah
The Minister of Local Government, Lands and Religious Affairs, Hamat NK Bah, has revealed that real estate companies have defrauded Gambians, particularly members of the diaspora, of more than D500 million.
Addressing journalists, he said the lack of a specific law targeting real estate fraud has allowed perpetrators to exploit victims with minimal consequences.
“When I first came here and I looked at things, they have approximately defrauded Gambians over half a billion dalasi, particularly the diaspora, and I see there was no law,” Minister Bah stated.
He explained that existing legislation, such as laws on obtaining money by false pretenses and other general criminal offenses, has proven inadequate in addressing the scale of the problem.
“The only law that is here is obtaining money by false pretense and other criminal charges that the police can use, We see that some of these when they arrest them, the next day they are outside,“ He Said.
This situation, the minister noted, prompted the government to draft a new bill specifically targeting land and real estate fraud. “We decided that there has to be a law to deal with these people,” he said.
Minister Bah revealed that the bill’s submission to Parliament was delayed because he was dissatisfied with the proposed penalties.
“The bill will be going through validation when it is done. The reason it was late is that the sentences they put in the law were small to me,” he explained.
He emphasized that penalties must be severe enough to deter offenders, noting the financial sacrifices many Gambians make abroad only to fall victim to scams.
“I cannot be doing two jobs abroad and I gave you my money, you defrauded me, and they are only sentencing you for six months. That is why I delayed the document and we reviewed it. We put a sentence that anybody they send to prison when they come out you will be thinking about something else other than defrauding people,” He Said.
The minister added that the bill is currently under review by the Attorney General before being submitted to Cabinet and eventually tabled in the National Assembly. He also confirmed that his ministry has partnered with the police to strengthen enforcement of land-related regulations.
“Anybody who thinks you can defraud people and go scot free very soon you will have something else to think about aside from defrauding,” Minister Bah concluded.
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