The Brikama Area Council (BAC) has dissolved the Sanyang Village Development Committee (SVDC) with immediate effect, citing alleged disregard for its constitution and provisions of the Local Government Act 2002.
In a letter dated 14 May 2026 and addressed to the SVDC chairman, Botto Gaye, the council said the decision was taken under Section 96(1) of the Local Government Act following a resolution adopted at its general sitting.
BAC called on the outgoing committee to cooperate and facilitate a smooth transition to a newly constituted executive.
The council said the resolution followed recommendations from its WDC/VDC Conflict Resolution Adhoc Committee and was adopted by a majority vote during a council sitting held on 14 May 2026.
It said the motion was moved by the councilor for Bijilo Ward and seconded by the councilor for Sintet Ward before being approved by members through a show of hands.
According to BAC, the dissolution was based on what it described as “absolute and total disregard” of the SVDC constitution governing the executive committee.
The council urged stakeholders to support the implementation of the resolution and ensure cooperation during the transition process.
BAC also disclosed that the matter stemmed from a petition filed by the Sanyang Development Fund (SDF), which alleged widespread financial mismanagement within the SVDC.
The petition reportedly cited allegations amounting to over D90 million in mismanaged or unaccounted funds across various community-related revenue streams.
These included alleged losses of D10–12 million from juvenile fishing sales, D17,040,000 from community land revenues, D2–3 million from Sanyang Eco-Lodge operations, and D1 million from taxes and rentals.
Other claims included D45.5 million linked to GACH Mining shares, D1.8 million from a fish meal factory, D360,000 from the sale of a community ambulance, D529,000 from night sand mining operations, and D9.5 million from recent beach land sales.
BAC said its Petition Committee engaged all relevant stakeholders, including representatives of the SDF, SVDC, the Sanyang Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), community elders of Sanyang Bulundala, and the Alkalo, before reaching a decision.
The council further noted that an earlier investigation was reassigned following concerns over conflict of interest involving some committee members. It said the revised committee excluded affected members and included additional administrative officers such as the Council Clerk and the VDC/WDC Desk officer.
BAC added that it remained committed to ensuring due process and transparency in resolving governance issues at the community level.
It urged all parties to cooperate with authorities as the process of establishing a new Village Development Committee got underway.