By Omar Bah
Businessman Haji Jawara, has urged government to ensure a thorough investigation into the alleged fraudulent allocations of Kamalo lands and ensure any official found wanting is prosecuted immediately without exception.
On Tuesday, the ministry of lands announced the suspension of all land development activities at Kamalo Proper and Kamalo Extension Industrial Layouts situated along the Banjul-Serekunda Highway.
The ministry said it has initiated a review exercise in the areas.
Reacting to the announcement, Jawara, who was himself allocated land there for his Gambisara White House Enterprise to relocate from Angola where he is honorary consul for Gambia, told The Standard: “The step taken by government is welcoming, and I want to urge the president and the new minister of lands to take the matter very seriously and ensure all plots allocated dubiously are returned to the state.”
He said ministers and government officials entrusted to serve the Gambian people should be transparent with public resources.
“I urged the president to stop being sympathetic to ministers or government officials found wanting for mismanaging public resources.” “I know he has a very clean heart and would not want to hurt even a fly, but when it comes to national resources, there should be no compromise with individuals who mismanaged them for personal gains,” he said.
Jawara said the president and his government should take drastic measures to address the excesses of some of his ministers and government officials if he wants to leave a very good legacy.
“I want the president to understand that being sincere alone is not enough, especially if you are working with people who do not care about helping you to succeed,” he said.
Jawara said the president should order for the Kamalo investigation to be extended to the allocations in the Senegambia area.
He alleged that some foreign business owners are using their financial muscle to corruptly acquire state properties.
