By Madiba Singhateh
Rohey Manjang, the Minister of Environment Climate Change and Natural Resources has made pronouncement that the Gambia Government has nullified all alkalo or any other transfers made in respect of land in the forest zone of Manduar until the controversies are resolved.
The forest is shared between the communities of Marikissa, Penyem Manduar and Bakary Sambuya.
The minister said the Government wants to ensure that due process is followed and the laws governing forestry are respected. She declared all transfers by the Alkalos of the said communities of plots of land in the vicinity of the forest as “null and void”. She informed the media that this order would stand until the issue of the allegations of encroachment is resolved.
The Minister said the area has been given back to the communities to manage and ensure that the trees grow.
Recently, there have been controversies between the youth and their Alkalos resulting in the arrest and prosecution of ten (10) people on charges relating to disruption of public order. The police alleged that their conduct had the potential of undermining peace. The young people, on the other hand, accused the Alkalo of Manduar and some others of encroaching into the forest by allocating plots of lands to people, some of whom had commenced erecting fence and buildings. The 10 youth are currently detained at the State Central Prison, Mile 2. They have already denied the charges against them, but they were remanded by the court on the request of the police and they will appear before the court later this month.
The Minister said the people should respect the laws. She asked the people to stop encroaching into the forests.
“We cannot also condone that. Today we gazette and tomorrow some people take the law in their own hand. We are not going to allow that. If any Alkalo engages in such malpractices, the person should desist from it otherwise he will face the full force of law,” the minister said.
She stated that the people encroaching in reserved lands like forests thinking that the law won’t take it’s stance would be caught in the future. She called on the security, forest workers, the communities, the media and the Ministry to partner in defence of the resources of the State.
“It is our own and we have to fix it together. There is no need for pointing fingers to one another because this is a gazetted land. Let’s make sure we protect the forest,” she said.
‘We are not playing.”
The Minister stressed that the process of gazetting is not easy, adding that once an area is published in the gazette as a designated forest; the people should protect the area collectively. She mentioned that the forest was nurtured by the people of those communities and that the area is legally designated as a forest.
“We are not playing,” she said, while addressing the issue of encroachments into the forests.
She said the Government has the duty to protect the forest, adding that they will protect it to stop people from encroaching into the area.
