By Ndey Sowe
Mustapha Njie, Chief Executive Officer of TAF Africa Global, has called on the government to enact and enforce strong laws against indiscriminate tree felling, following the cutting down of trees at Brufut Gardens by the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC).
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, 12th September 2025, Mr. Njie also launched the new “TAF Green” initiative, aimed at promoting environmental sustainability and urban greening across TAF projects. The event, held at the TAF Africa Global office in Brufut Madiba, included a site visit to showcase TAF’s long-standing commitment to green development.
Mr. Njie revealed that Brufut Gardens spans 1.7 kilometers, with 350 trees planted at five-meter intervals. Of these, about 100 were cut down.
“The trees in Brufut Gardens are gone. We cannot bring them back. But we can honour their memory by ensuring that not another tree falls without a fight. Let us choose a greener, more sustainable path. Let us build our cities, but let us build them in harmony with nature,” he told journalists.
Mr. Njie explained that he received photographs of the felled trees while attending the second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa.
“Words cannot fully describe the profound sadness and disappointment I felt and continue to feel. This act is a stark contradiction to the very conversations our leaders are having. It is a microcosm of the broader challenge we face. This must stop,” he lamented.
He further pledged that TAF Africa Global would step up its role in environmental advocacy across Africa:
“We are committing to move beyond construction and into direct, advanced advocacy to prevent such acts — not just in The Gambia, but everywhere we operate. We must be clear about what is lost when we cut down a tree.”
To lead by example, Mr. Njie announced that TAF Africa Global will double its tree-planting pledge, from five trees per house built to ten. He also urged the private sector to adopt green infrastructure and called on civil society and the public to remain vigilant by reporting illegal logging, organizing community planting days, and educating children about environmental stewardship.
Meanwhile, NAWEC has admitted responsibility for the incident.
Buba Badjie, NAWEC’s Communications Officer, described the action as “unfortunate,” acknowledging that it was handled poorly.
“We wish it did not happen that way. This is not about defense. This is about the truth. The way and manner it was done, it shouldn’t be. If we had contacted Mr. Njie and said, look, we wanted this tree to grow below 50 centimeters, I’m sure he would do it,” Mr. Badjie said.
He explained that NAWEC crews were working to resolve power line faults causing repeated outages, which led to the felling of the trees.
“It took the team almost 16 hours to locate the fault. This is unfortunate, and as an institution, we have taken full responsibility,” Mr. Badjie admitted.
He assured that NAWEC will now collaborate with TAF to ensure similar incidents do not happen again anywhere in the country.
