Bah was blunt in his reply, stressing that the victims had no legal ownership of the land and that government had followed proper procedures before carrying out the demolitions.
“In as much as this Government is interested in housing citizens throughout this country, I would assure you that I will not contemplate even compensating them one dime,” he told the Assembly. “They did not own the land where they built the structures and they did not obtain this Development Permit during due process.”
In his response, the minister explained that the Salaji Proper and Salaji Extension layouts, established in 2003 and 2007, were legally approved residential plans with designated spaces meant for community use.
According to him, those public spaces were later encroached upon by individuals who ignored stop-work notices and demolition warnings issued by the Department of Physical Planning and Housing.
He reminded lawmakers that though the law clearly prohibits development without a valid permit and empowers authorities to remove any illegal structures, they deliberately refused to adhere to those notices and “Government must act; law must be enforced”.
Hon. Fatou Cham, however, pressed further, asking why victims were issued Development Permits by the Lands Office if they were not supposed to build there.
Bah clarified that a Development Permit alone does not confer ownership, describing it merely as one step in a longer process. He admitted that irregularities occurred within the Ministry said some staff had faced disciplinary action as part of efforts to regularise the abnormalities.
Cham insisted that if these permits were illegally issued by Ministry staff, the government should take responsibility to house the victims.
Bah disagreed, saying that the victims were not entitled to any form of compensation or land allocation.
Other lawmakers joined the exchange. The Member for Bakau, Hon Assan Touray, questioned whether the Ministry could offer any form of assistance to the families left homeless. Bah repeated his stance, saying he would not approve one dime, not even one metre of land.
Latrikunda MP, Hon. Yahya Sanyang, asked whether the Ministry checked if some victims held Alkalo transfers before the demolition.
Bah responded that the land in question was state property and that Alkalo transfers had no bearing on government’s authority over public layouts.
The Member for Serrekunda, Hon. Musa Cham, also raised concerns about how the victims acquired the land, urging the Ministry to investigate those who sold it to them.
Bah dismissed the suggestion, saying it was the victims’ responsibility to hold sellers accountable, “that is not my business, it is the business of those who bought it and from where they bought it”.
