He accused one Lamin Jamba Jammeh and Lamin Bojang the two behind what he called illegal sand mining in the community.
He further alleged that neither of the accused have a mining licence nor do they pay any royalty to the VDC or the village.
"Whatever illegal sand mining they have done, all the money gets into their pockets. They sell the sand in Kartong and at other satellite communities," he claimed.
Spokesperson Jaiteh noted that the illegal mining has threatened their environment, and women gardeners that cultivate vegetables outskirt of the village.
"Kartong is 6ft below sea level and the Atlantic Ocean is close to the community; therefore, mining the sand dunes between the sea and the village would risk the existence of our community because if the sand dunes are mined the sea could engulf the community at any time," he said.
Kartong is surrounded by water on all three sides. The Alahein River is on the East, the Atlantic Ocean on the West and South of the village.
In this regard, Jaiteh noted that sand mining in Kartong, whether illegal or legal in general, is a threat to the existence of the community.
Jaiteh claimed that the VDC had reported the ongoing illegal sand mining at the Gunjur Police Station but added that the then station officer was not able to stop the illegal sand miners.
"Later on in January 2024, we reported the matter to the then WCR police commissioner, Kalilu Njie. We are certainly grateful to commissioner Njie. He acted very fast and effectively because he was able to apprehend two people in 24hrs. Those people were fined by the Gambia Geology Department," he narrated.
He said nowadays, miners would go mining late in the night and that the VDC was aware of the night mining and reported the matter to Gunjur Police Station. However, he noted that the police station never resolved that problem.
Jaiteh alleged that Lamin Bojang and Lamin Jamba Jammeh are using their political connection and power to continuously do illegal sand mining in Kartong.
He said the Kartong (VDC) has written to several relevant authorities including the Inspector General of Police, Ministry of Environment and Petroleum informing them of the continuous illegal sand mining in Kartong.
"The IGP has assigned one police commissioner to visit Kartong. We met the commissioner and took him to the mining site."
"The following day, we contacted the police commissioner and informed him that the illegal sand mining was still ongoing but he told us that some people from Kartong have visited the IGP and informed him that the people who met the commissioner are politicians," he said.
Reacting to the allegations, Lamin Bojang, NPP’s chairman for Kartong, denied involvement in any illegal sand mining.
“I never involve myself in illegal sand mining. I only mine sand in my home,” he said.
He also alleged that the Kartong VDC chairman is the one doing sand mining,” he alleged.
However, efforts to reach out to Lamin Jamba Jammeh proved futile.
