It is sad that from Independence in 1965 to date, land in The Gambia has been governed by fragmented rules: colonial legacies, customary practices, administrative discretion, and overlapping statutes. What we lacked—until now—was a single, coherent vision that treats land not merely as territory to be controlled, but as capital to be productively deployed. And this to some extent has fuelled conflicts between communities.
Mr President, we must first commend you and your entire technicians at the Lands Ministry for their foresight and bold move in drafting what has now become The Gambia's Land Policy document. This is indeed a welcome development and we commend all those who played a role in the final actualisation of this long awaited policy.
It is a fact that in a country where land is the primary store of wealth for most citizens, both urban and rural areas, this moment is historic and a cause for celebration. Indeed, this launch not only signals a welcome shift towards better land management, but would also help in addressing some of the perennial conflicts that arose as a result of land ownership.
In a nutshell, the land policy would significantly put an end to land grabbing, which has become the order of the day in some communities.
Mr President, the launch of this policy is timely. Across the globe, land is not just soil. It is the foundation of housing, agriculture, industry, infrastructure, and intergenerational wealth. Yet for too long in The Gambia, land has been locked in disputes, under-valued in transactions, unbankable for ordinary citizens, and in some areas it is poorly integrated into national development financing.
When this new policy is properly implemented, it can change the status quo by ensuring secure ownership tenure for families and communities, and reducing conflicts and speculation. It would also enable mortgage finance and Public Private Partnerships, while allowing people to convert idle land into productive assets. In short, it can turn land from a passive inheritance into an active engine of growth.
Mr President, history teaches us a hard lesson: policies do not fail because they are badly written; they fail because they are poorly implemented. The launch of this policy must therefore be seen as the beginning, not the end, of reform.
To this end, some of the key questions that now arise are: will land administration be simplified and digitised? Will valuation be transparent and market-reflective? Will customary landholders be protected, not marginalised? Or will land finally be integrated into housing finance, infrastructure, Public Private Partnerships and industrial development?
Whatever the case, if these questions are not answered decisively, the policy risks becoming another well-meaning document gathering dust.
Finally, Mr President, it is true that the most transformative promise of this policy lies in its potential to reposition land economically.
Across Africa, countries that have experienced rapid growth like Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, did so by recognising one simple truth: land must work and enabling land-for-equity partnerships rather than forced sales.
It also supports affordable housing through serviced land, while allowing landowners to co-invest with developers.
Thus, if your administration embraces this philosophy, Gambians will no longer need to sell land to survive; they can develop it to prosper.
Let's always bear in mind that a modern land policy demands modern institutions. Without them, discretion replaces law and conflict replaces confidence.
May we at this juncture kindly wish you and your family Good day and Happy New in advance, as we also wish all our esteemed readers and customers a blessed Yuletide and beyond!
Good day!