Dr. Jeng,
You are very close to the heart of the matter when you wrote: "One of
Government's most important tasks therefore is to revisit this archaic
British land tenure system to suit the Gambia's current needs."

The Gambia certainly needs to revisit many of our traditional institutions
but most importantly local government institutions.

To understand where we went wrong in today's land laws we must first look at
our traditional land tenure system.  In traditional (before independence)
Mandinka societies, ownership is very much that of the "Kabilo". If you want
land you go to the head of the Kabilo. If more than one Kabilolu are at
dispute they can go to the Alkalo(village head). He and his Kabila-tiyolu
(heads of the Kabilo) talk it out and settle it. For those who do not know
Mandinka (Kabilo is a sub-division of a village more like a family tree. I
do not like to use the Clan word). You would notice that the even the Alkalo
has limited say over land. His role is in settling dispute.

The problem is that during and after colonization  the government (national
and local government) through  Commissioners, Chiefs and alikalolu have by
law become land owners in the Gambia.
Traditional land ownership is considered to be that of usufruct. Right to
use but not really owned. People can only go around this when they buy or
claim private title. And that the Government (central and local) through the
Minister, Commissioners, Seyfoelu and Alkalolu assumed the right to sell or
transfer. Under this system conflicts like the one at hand is guaranteed!

This is because the law does not protect the rightful user (the owner) from
abuse. Many government agents saw it as a powerful tool for getting rich and
political arm-twisting. An Alkalo can allocate a rival Kabilo's land (in the
name of national interest) to building a school or with disregard to the
livelihood many of those Kabilo members. Infact on numerous occasions a
Seyfo would sell land belonging to an opposing  village or Kabilo as a way
of leveling political scores.

The system enabled the government to allocate land for forest and wildlife
parks, Tourist Development Area, schools and hospitals all of which are
genuine national interests. All they did was to get the Seyfo, Alkalo and a
few of his men in line. Such allocations were not vigorously contested in
the past either because the land was for public use or the people affected
feared government (ignorance).

However many Gambians are getting better at understanding their rights as
citizens and the government must take note of this to avoid serious
conflict. The law should be revised to restore people's traditional control
over the land they use and claim ownership to. These people must be able to
determine who takes their land and for what compensation especially where
there is a clear commercial interest.

Malanding Jaiteh

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dr. Alhaji Jeng" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 5:23 AM
Subject: Re: State Land?


> Jabou,
>
> Without claiming to be an authority on the land tenure system of our
> country, I wish to make a small contibution to this issue at hand.
>
> The land tenure (distribution / allocation) system in the Gambia is an
> intricate and complex system.  Let's start with the easy ones. Land
acquired
> through purchase for private use (residence, private gardens & orchards
etc)
> is usually considered private property. This is common to find in the
> Greater Banjul Area.
>
> Land that has been in the custody of a clan for generations, being
utilised
> for various purposes, is usually considered to belong to that clan,
although
> this is not a written law. Therefore, as I understand the Brufut dispute,
> Government cannot, without consultation with the traditional owners,
> indiscriminately allocate the land. The people who have been using the
land
> for generations must have a say in the future itilisation of the land.
>
> But in the Gambia many decisions are taken without regard for justice. And
> this is one of the major reasons why farmers, for example are always
> reluctant to develop or evn rehabilitate land.
>
> Agroforestry is an agrricultural system / practice that can permit a piece
> of land to be used over and over again for many years thereby reducing the
> need fallow farming. It is very income generating and land corserving. But
> farmers are afraid of investing in developing the land just to be taken
away
> from them tomorrow. The land tenure system has no provisions for the right
> to retain land indefinitely.
>
> One of Government's most important tasks therefore is to revisit this
> archaic British land tenure system to suit the Gambia's current needs.
>
> Alhaji
>

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------