The Sanyang Development Fund (SDF) and Sanyang Ward Councillor Botto Bojang have called on the Ministry of Works and the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) to suspend activities related to the proposed Deep Sea Port (DSP) project and return to consultations with the community.
The demands were made on Tuesday during a radio panel discussion on Home Digital FM oin Brikama, where SDF representatives called for the disclosure of the proposed port’s map and site plan, adequate compensation for affected residents and a return to what they described as the site previously agreed upon by the community and other stakeholders.
Saikou Camara, Chairman of the SDF Diaspora Chapter and Secretary General and Legal Compliance Officer of the Sanyang UK Association, said the community wanted the Ministry and GPA to disclose the boundaries of the proposed port and clarify the basis on which the land was acquired or leased.
“We want the Ministry of Works and Gambia Ports Authority to produce the map of the proposed Deep Sea Port. This will allow us to know where the port starts and where it ends,” he said.
Camara also demanded compensation for the people of Sanyang and called for the authorities to return to the site he said had previously been agreed upon by villagers and stakeholders.
He said the SDF would continue raising concerns over the project until what he described as the community’s outstanding entitlements were addressed.
Camara further alleged that individuals currently engaging with the Ministry and GPA did not have the authority to represent the Sanyang community on the DSP project.
He also attributed divisions within the community to what he described as the actions of a few elders, alleging that former Minister of Interior Major Momodou Bojang was responsible for much of the disagreement.
Botto Bojang, Councillor for Sanyang Ward, criticised a recent meeting involving the Ministry of Works, GPA and some community members over compensation.
He said engaging members of the dissolved Village Development Committee (VDC) and other individuals without what he described as a legitimate community mandate could further complicate the situation.
Bojang urged the Ministry and GPA to return to the drawing board and engage the Sanyang Deep Sea Port Taskforce Committee, which he described as the body mandated by the community to discuss matters concerning the project.
Yankuba Ceesay, Chairman of the SDF Home Chapter, expressed concern over recent activities by the Ministry and GPA, alleging that several residents had received notices to vacate their properties while issues concerning compensation, the location of the port and other benefits remained unresolved.
“We are calling on the Ministry of Works and the Gambia Ports Authority to go back to the drawing board and engage the right authorities in Sanyang,” Ceesay said.
He said the community supported the construction of the DSP but wanted guarantees on compensation, employment opportunities for youths and access to gardens for women.
Ebrima Kinteba Touray of the SDF Diaspora Chapter said the Sanyang Deep Sea Port Taskforce was the only body mandated by the community to engage on the project.
He warned that the SDF could seek legal redress if the Ministry and GPA failed to address what he described as outstanding concerns.
Lawyer Lamin J. Darboe, counsel for the SDF, said the community was primarily seeking adequate compensation for resources and property affected by the project.
He warned that legal action could be pursued if the demands were not addressed, while questioning the legality of engagements between the Ministry, GPA and members of the dissolved Sanyang VDC.
The claims made by the SDF representatives and other speakers could not be independently verified.