By Fatou Krubally
Minister of Lands, Regional Government and Religious Affairs Hamat N.K. Bah has acknowledged that a Gambian government facility was constructed on Senegalese territory, as he defended ongoing efforts to reaffirm and strengthen the Gambia-Senegal border.
Speaking in the National Assembly on Monday during debate on the ratification of the African Union Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation, known as the Niamey Convention of 2014, Bah told lawmakers that the land on which the facility was built was not part of Gambian territory.
“We built on Senegalese land,” Bah said, stressing that the facility had been constructed outside The Gambia’s territory.
His admission came during discussions on the ongoing border reaffirmation and densification exercise between The Gambia and Senegal.
Bah said the government established the Department of Border Management after identifying weaknesses in the country’s capacity to effectively manage border-related matters.
He said The Gambia previously lacked a dedicated secretariat with the technical expertise required to adequately prepare for negotiations and engagements with Senegalese authorities on border issues.
The minister said Senegal had decades of experience in border management, having dealt with similar issues involving several neighbouring countries, while The Gambia needed to strengthen its own technical capacity.
The government subsequently sought support from the German development agency GIZ, which has experience in supporting border management initiatives in the region, he said.
According to Bah, Gambian officials received training and specialised equipment was acquired to support the border reaffirmation and densification exercise.
He explained that reaffirmation involves jointly locating, inspecting and confirming the position and condition of existing international boundary pillars.
Densification, he added, involves installing additional boundary markers between existing pillars to make the international border more visible and clearly defined.
Bah rejected suggestions that the exercise was intended to surrender Gambian territory to Senegal.
“Senegal is not taking any Gambian land, Gambian is not taking any Senegalese land,” he said, arguing that the exercise was aimed at establishing and clearly defining the location of the international boundary.
The minister said the government had also engaged retired Gambians with experience in border-related matters, stressing that border management was an issue of national sovereignty and required the involvement of people with relevant knowledge and expertise.
He further underscored the importance of maintaining peaceful relations between The Gambia and Senegal, given the longstanding movement of people, trade, farming and livestock across the border.
The National Assembly subsequently approved the motion to ratify the African Union Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation, the Niamey Convention of 2014.
Bah said ratification would provide a stronger legal framework for cross-border cooperation while contributing to peace, stability and good relations between The Gambia and Senegal.
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