By: Nicholas Bas
The Chairperson of the Environmental Concern Group of Gunjur, Lamin Jammeh, has dismissed a recent mining report by The Republic online newspaper as speculative and lacking in investigative rigour.
The article, titled “The Opaque Mining Deal Gambling with Gambia’s Future,” was published on April 30, 2025, and co-authored by Talibeh Hydara and Mariam Sankanu. It accused the GACH Mining Company of contributing to environmental and economic losses in communities such as Gunjur.
In response, Mr. Jammeh said the publication misrepresented facts and failed to meet journalistic standards. “The Republic presented speculation as fact, undermining the standards of proper investigative journalism,” he stated.
He criticized the article for omitting the position of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, which, he said, provided credible justification for granting GACH’s operational licence. He added that the license was awarded through a competitive process at a time when GACH CEO Abubacarr Jawara had no known ties to President Adama Barrow.
Jammeh also rejected suggestions that Jawara’s appointment as honorary consul of The Gambia to Guangzhou, China, was influenced by presidential connections. “Mr. Jawara was first given that title in 2006 during ex-President Jammeh’s administration, and it was renewed in 2012,” he said.
He further disputed claims made in the report regarding EU development funds, including that households lost between 50% to 70% of their monthly income up to D10,000 due to mining. While Jammeh acknowledged some income losses, he attributed these primarily to increased rental prices and migration pressures, not mining.
On the issue of compensation, he stated that GACH had formal agreements with Village Development Committees (VDCs) in affected areas such as Sanyang and Batokunku. He said these included compensation packages for gardeners impacted by scrubland clearing.
Contrary to the implication that cropland was destroyed much of the concession area lies within the Tourism Development Area, earmarked for tourism and mining since the early 2000 Jammeh said.
He concluded by challenging the authors to verify facts with the local VDCs, accusing The Republic of relying on unnamed sources. He also corrected a claim about Jawara’s age, calling the report is inaccurate and misleading.
