Culled from The Independent, Friday 30 January - 1
February 2004

                                  Who Really Owns Kairaba Beach Hotel?

The Independent has been privy to information that the kairaba Beach Hotel
had been sold off to the West Coast Property Holding Limited based in The
Gambia, in a clandestine sale and ownership transfer deal, which was
deliberately made so, to ensure that its real ownership remains a well-kept
secret.

The five-star hotel originally owned by Consulting Hotel, Balear St Paseo
Meritimo 1907014 Palma de Mallorca in Spain, was sold on 13 December 2000
for $ 11 million (American dollars).  The Spanish business outfit created a
company in The Gambia called Side Gambia Investment and had owned and
managed Kairaba Beach hotel and Sindola lodge in Kanilai.  According to the
business arrangements, Consulting Hotel owned 100 percent of Side Gambia and
issued 90 percent of such shares to west Coast Property Holding with
agreement for a  later transfer of the remaining 10 percent of the shares.

When Kairaba went in for sale 11 million dollars four years ago, the
occasion was witnessed by Tariq Musa and Amadou Samba, two business tycoons,
known for their investments in other areas of Gambian entrepreneurship.
According to sources, Lang Conteh, the former Forex manager at the Central
Bank owns 40 percent while Baba Jobe owns 60 percent shares in his name.
Sources also intimated that a company known as Global finance had provided
the 11 million dollars used to purchase the five-star hotel, whose real
ownership is still a matter of speculation and second-guessing.  At the time
of sale of Kairaba hotel had a liability of D 48 million, which according to
our sources was cancelled as part of the sale.  The manner of its sale, and
the unanswered question of the real owners of purpotedly Gambian companies
linked directly to the sale of the five-star hotel cast a shadow of doubt
over the purpoted owner(s) and provoke further questions over who the real
owners of the hotel are.

Since the man ran into trouble with the authorities in November,  Honourable
Baba Jobe has been denied access to the hotel, which is currently under the
control and supervision of Amadou Samba, himself a proxy for an individual
we will refrain from disclosing until a susbequent edition.  as the Majority
leader continues to lanquish in detention, Amadou samba has taken up the
responsibility of poviding fuel for the Millennium Airline, the president's
private aircraft, a task Honourable Jobe was undertaking.  In the past the
aircraft had been fueled by Honourable Jobe through the Youth Development
Enterprise.

Meanwhile, since Lang Conteh's detention Camelot has had its own share of
troubles, with one report suggesting that it has been closed as
investigations open over the activities of its senior executives.  In fact
more revelations have been made pertaining to these activities.  A Camelot
employee identified as John a Nigerian responsible for the electronics
department was allegedly given $ 100,000 to go shopping in Dubai and france.
  He also allegedly took Camelot credit cards along with him during such
trips.  Sources have also intimated that girlfriends for Camel;ot bosses
were regularly given thousands of pounds to go shopping for the business
outfit while these monies were usually not accounted for upon their return.
Maximum salary for employees of Camelot is  D10,000 monthly while the
minimum wage is D6,000

End

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