By Tabora Bojang
The National Assembly special select committee which investigated the sales and disposal of assets linked to former president Yahya Jammeh has said despite a legal opinion from the Ministry of Justice advising the government that TAF Africa Global Gambia is the rightful owner of the remaining undeveloped land situated at the AU TAF Presidential Villas, Brufut Heights, the government instructed the land containing 41 villas be transferred to the State by way of assignment to the Office of the Vice President.
In the report, adopted by the National Assembly on Tuesday, the committee said it received evidence that in December 2023, the Ministry of Justice rendered a legal opinion advising the government that TAF Africa Global Gambia Ltd is the rightful owner of the remaining undeveloped land situated at the AU TAF Presidential Villas, Brufut Heights. Notwithstanding, the aforementioned legal opinion, the government directed the ministry to expedite the transfer of the remaining 41 African Union (AU) Presidential Villas situated at Brufut Gardens to the government of The Gambia by way of assignment to the Office of the Vice President with immediate effect.
The committee noted that prior to this directive, an earlier communication dated 20th August, 2024 was sent directly from the Office of the President to Mr Mustapha N’jie, CEO of TAF Africa Global, on the same subject.
The committee found that despite TAF Africa Global’s assertion of rightful ownership over the undeveloped property, it subsequently complied with the presidential directive and submitted 41 assignment deeds to effect the transfer of the villas to the government via the Office of the Vice President.
According to the lawmakers, it remains unclear to them whether the government has completed the transfer of the 41 undeveloped villas and, if such assignment has been executed, to whom these properties have ultimately been subleased or otherwise disposed of.
“The committee notes that the correspondence dated 30th September, 2024 suggests that the government intended to “kick-start the release of the said parcel of undeveloped land”. In the committee’s view, this matter warrants further inquiry and investigation to establish the current status and ownership of the properties, and the identities of any beneficiaries or subletees.”
Fajara waterfront property
The committee said during the testimony of the governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Buah Saidy, he testified unequivocally that the bank had not acquired any other property beyond the Futurelec Building.
“However, evidence that later came to the committee’s attention makes this assertion difficult to reconcile. A letter, seen by the committee, dated 24th June, 2021, tells a materially different story. In that letter, the Attorney General, Hon. Dawda Jallow, acting in his official capacity as chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, communicated a decision to provisionally allocate to the Central Bank a parcel of land situated at Fajara Waterfront, opposite the Nawec Office. The said property measures 130m x 160m and was allegedly allocated to the bank at no cost, purportedly for the purpose of constructing a Business Continuity Centre.”
The committee said it found that the request for the said allocation was made by the CBG.
“Regrettably, despite these facts, the committee has been unable to establish the current status of this property, whether the provisional allocation was ever converted into a substantive title, or whether the Central Bank has at any point exercised any rights over it,” the report said.
The committee further noted with concern what it called “a deliberate pattern of meddling with official records and declaring them missing” by the Gambia Tourism Board. It dismissed explanations by GTB former director Abubacarr Camara blaming past administrations. According to the committee, lands were allocated by the GTB to investors Kruna Villa Gambia Ltd, Mansaya Eco-Resort, Tree House Lodge and Light House Project when there were no records of any company or business with the name in the Companies Register.
Board dissolution
In view of these findings, the committee recommends that the entire board of directors of the Gambia Tourism Board be immediately dissolved and a new board appointed. It further recommended that the auditor general conduct an independent forensic audit and a comprehensive examination of all landed property allocations GTB made from 2017 to 2025 and submit the report within six months of the adoption of the report.
