Sanyang SDF demands immediate cease of all Deep Sea Ports activities; get back to drawing board

"Our demands are very simple, we want the Ministry of Works and Gambia Ports Authority to produce the map of the  proposed Deep Sea Port, this will allow us to know where the ports starts and where it ends. We want them to tell us who gave them the land and who ordered them  to lease a communual land without knowledge of the villagers," Saikou Camara, Chairman SDF, Diaspora Chapter and Secretary General and Legal Compliance Officer Sanyang UK Association (SUKA), demanded.
He added: " We are also demanding full compensation to the people of Sanyang and as well for them to return to the previous site agreed by the villagers and all stakeholders. What we want the Minister of works, Ebrima Sillah to understand is that SDF and all patriotic natives of Sanyang will never relent on the issues untill the community have its fair share of the project.

The SDF Diaspora Chairman continued to warned that SDF members will never relent on discussions relative to the DSP, and will never stop complaining about its dissatisfaction and irregularities, adding that the only time SDF members will cease on the discussion on the DSP is the time when all dues entitled to Sanyang are adequately addressed.

"We also want to make it clear to Minister that those they are dealing with in Sanyang are our brothers and sisters but they have no authority to speak on behalf ofcommunity. We want the Minister to further note that those they are dealing with on issues of the DSP are not even the owners of the land and cannot give out lands for the DSP that doesn't belongs to them," SDF Diaspira further revealed

Chairman SDF Diaspora continue to revealed that very few elders are responsible for the current misunderstanding among the people of Sanyang, alledging that former Minister of Local Government, Major Momodou Bojang is the architect of all misunderstandings and divisions within the community.

He added that the former Local Government Minister is also responsible for instigating the members of the dissolved VDC to defying legal orders, stressing that both the Minister of Works, GPA and all stakeholders should note that Major Bojang is just an ordinary native of Sanyang, is not an Alkali nor is he a head of Kabilo or a member of the Bulunda and therefore has no mandate to speak on behalf of the people of Sanyang.

Botto Bojang, Councilor Sanyang Ward strongly condemned the recent meeting of Ministry of Works, GPA and few members of the community regarding compensation matters, observing that engaging dissolved members of the Village Development Committee (VDC), including others without authority in the community will only complicate matters.

He recalled that misunderstandings regarding the construction of the DSP started from the very day of the laying of the foundation stone by the President Barrow, disclosing that members of the community including local authorities were asked not to go to the site where the foundation stones are to be laid.

He called on both the Ministry of Works and GPA to go back to the drawing board and start engaging the Sanyang Deep Sea Port Taskforce Committee, noting that the taskforce committee is the only committee mandated to discuss all matters pertaining to the DSP project.

Yankuba Ceesay, Chairman Sanyang SDF, Home Chapter expressed his association's displeasure to recent activities of Ministry of Works and Gambia Ports Authority, disclosing that many residents have been issued with notices to vacate, while major issues relative to compensations, location of the Deep Sea Port and other benefits due to the community of Sanyang remains unsolved.

"We are calling on the attention of the Ministry of Works and the Gambia Ports Authority to go back to the drawing board and engage the right authorities in Sanyang. We are calling on them to cease any further engagement with the dissolved VDC as well as Major Momodou Bojang on anything matters dealing with the DSP project," Yankuba Ceesay, Chairman Sanyang SDF.

He added: "The entire people of Sanyang sincerely and wholeheartedly welcome the construction of the DSP project. However, what we cannot absorb is for the authorities to play games on us and mortgage our community lands without compensation to us, without any guarantees for employment for our youths, without gardens to our women."

Ebrima Kinteba Touray, Sanyang SDF Diaspora emphasised that the only authority mandated by the people of Sanyang to discuss matters associated with the DSP project is the TaskForce, noting that any meeting organised by the Ministry of Works and GPA without the full participation of the Taskforce should be disregarded by the people of Sanyang.

He warned that SDF will resort to court actions if Ministry of Works and GPA failed to address key issues and concerns associated with the construction of the DSP, while calling on all patriotic natives and residents of Sanyang to stand together and condemned the forceful seizure of their lands without due processes and compensations.

Lawyer Lamin J. Darboe, Counsel for SDF observed that both the Ministry of Works and Gambia Ports Authority have been dishonest to the people of Sanyang, noting that all what the community of Sanyang are demanding is adequate comoensation for their resources.

He warned that if the demands of the people are not met legal action will be the last card to be play by the community, while describing the dealers of the Ministry of Works and GPA with members of the dissolved Sanyang VDC as illegal.