WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2011-03-16 Time: 09:00:02 Posted By: News Poster
By Sanna Jawara
Abdoulie Manneh, permanent secretary No.2 at the Ministry of Local Government and Lands, yesterday continued giving his testimony at the ongoing Lands Commission chaired by Justice Mahoney at the High Court in Banjul.
PS Manneh informed the Commission that sometimes the Land Sales Committee used to invite some of its’ members for field inspection and insisted that lands identified for sale by the Land Sales Committee are normally approved by the minister for Local Government and Lands. Asked how such approvals were done, PS Manneh replied that such approvals are normally done either through written paper or verbally and most of the committee’s sales were results of forfeitures done by the government.
Further questioned as to whether there was any allocation of lands for the Land Sales Committee to sell, Abdoulie Manneh at first replied in the negative, but later admitted there was one allocation in Bijilo annex. According to him, this allocation was due to the fact that there were no compensation-related issues concerning the Bijilo annex. He denied having any knowledge of land dispute involving one Amadou Sonko as suggested by the Commission members.
The issue of Amadou Sonko brought PS Manneh to refer to the State Lands Act, which according to him provided among other things that, all lands in the country belongs to the state. As such no alkalo has the authority to sell any state land and the Land Sales Committee is responsible for selling of lands.
Further responding to series of questions from the Commission, PS Manneh said when lands are identified for sale, they are normally advertised with details, applicants are invited to visit the map at the Lands Department and if necessary they are invited to visit the site of the land, and people do apply for allocation including swamp industries. Asked about the 40 percent discount for swamp industries, PS Manneh said the 40 percent discount is meant to encourage the private sector to invest in the country and at the end of the day, the swamp industries pay the 40 percent in the form of tax to the government. The Lands PS further explained to the Commission that the swamp industries have no authority to change the design of a layout, instead they are only allowed to develop the lands sold to them in the layout.
According to him, whenever a notice was put to him about change of design of a layout, he as the PS has the authority to send the director of Physical Planning and Housing to find out the issue and report it to him. “As the PS, I cannot take any technical decision without technical advice to that effect.
The reserve price is often arrived through evaluation of land. I am not aware as to whether some Land Sales Committee members bought lands from the committee and I cannot tell whether the said lands were advertised, because I was not at the meeting when the sales took place. I was briefed about it,” PS Manneh told the Lands Commission. PS Manneh recalled a land being forfeited from one Mr Thomas, but he did not remember the exact rationale behind forfeiture of the said land. He acknowledged a land acquisition in Brikama by Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) through the Ministry of Lands. However, he added that lands acquired in the provinces by SSHFC are done with the district authorities.
“The Ministry did not allocate lands in the provinces. The district authorities are responsible for allocating lands in the provinces with the approval of the minister for Local Government and Lands. I am aware of a study conducted by the GTA in 2010, with the aim of re-defining the Tourism Development Area (TDA).
When the TDA land transfer is made, the mandate for GTA allocation of lands should be reviewed and there is a need to put in appropriate measures, because the Ministry is mandated to allocate lands in the TDA. However, that does not mean the Ministry can allocate lands without consultation. If the Ministry just allocate lands in the TDA without consulting the GTA, then that will not help in the development of the TDA,” PS Manneh hinted the Lands Commission.
He further explained that leased documents from the provinces are signed by the minister and the district authorities, adding that the Department of Physical Planning and Housing have officers in all the regions of the country and the same procedure is involved in allocation of lands in both the provincial and Greater Banjul Area. Asked about the land allocation to an Indian Company called Afro Natural Company in Sohm Village, West Coast Region, PS Manneh responded that the said allocation is news to him, as he was not aware of it.
This prompted the Lands Commission to ask him about circumstances surrounding allocation of land to another company called Sony Enterprise in Mandinary Village in Kombo North, West Coast Region. PS Manneh replied by recalling the opening of the Petroleum plant in Mandinary Village and said before the opening of the said plant, an industrial area was identified in Mandinary sometime between 2004 and 2005. He added that the industrial area was meant to cope with the growing industrial needs of the country.
He continued: “The villagers were informed about the project and compensation was supposed to be done to the traditional owners of the land. However, it would be of interest to note that the State Lands Act made declaration that, all lands belong to the state and this included the Kombos, where Mandinary Village is located. Most of the time people misunderstood the issue of compensation. Though I am not a legal practitioner, but a state land is a state property.
If you look at the Provincial Lands Act, user of lands comes into play. You cannot deprive somebody of the land he is earning his living from and you did not compensate him. For the Mandinary case, a team was set up, headed by the Ministry of Energy and the team comprised of Ministry of Local Government and Lands, GIPFZA and other institutions.”
The PS further told the Lands Commission that circumstances surrounding allocation of land to the Sony Enterprise was all recorded and the records are there to shed light on it. The Local Government PS revealed that he was allocated land sometime in 1983.
Original date published: 16 March 2011
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201103160552.html?viewall=1