The Gambian leader, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, has established a commission of enquiry to look into matters of land allocations in the country.

The nine-member commission, which is chaired by Justice Almamy Fanding Taal, a high court judge, will among other things, look into illegal allocations and illegal sales of land. Justice Taal and four other members of the commission in the persons of Buba HMM Njie, Momodou Badgie, Marafang Bayo, and Saihou Sanyang were sworn in last Friday afternoon at a ceremony presided over by the president at State House in Banjul.

The remaining four members of the commission who were not present at Friday's swearing in ceremony are expected to take their oaths in due course. Addressing the members of the commission shortly after each of them took two different oaths of office and secrecy, President Jammeh thanked them for accepting what he called a very difficult challenge in the sense that justice must be done, and stressed that The Gambia is not endowed with a lot of resources including land that a few people can decide to take.

He explained that there is the need to put an end to malpractices, something he described as part of corruption. He further stated that the commission should be seen as a step forward in the fight against corruption. "I made it very clear that I am not going to accept corruption in whatever form because corruption is evil; it is ungodly; and it makes thousands of people suffer for the benefit of a few greedy individuals - that I am not going to accept in my government. Corruption is a very dangerous disease and is detrimental to any human society," he said.

The president harped on other negative consequences of corruption, pointing out that even drug dealers and criminals who kill can get away with their crimes in circumstances where they have senior law enforcement officers on their payroll. "That's what corruption does to a country and with it forget development. Do we want to live in a city-state where the good belongs to few and the rest live in abject poverty? No! That is not the type of city-state I envisaged; I want a prosperous Gambia where everybody 98 percent of the population will live in dignity," he declared.

The commission, President Jammeh further explained, gives to every Gambian the opportunity to come forward with whatever information he/she may have for the benefit of the country. "It doesn't make sense people sitting in their corners and complaining that this guy sold land; took this and that and then you are not willing to come forward. For the commission to succeed; the Gambians must come forward," he emphasised.

The president pointed out that the success of the commission is not based on the members competence, but on Gambians coming forward and exercising their patriotic rights and duties to their country. He however made it clear that the commission of enquiry into matters of land allocations in the country is by no means created for "witch hunting" but to make sure that justice is done. "The commission if it was meant for witch hunting, then they [members] wouldn't have been allowed to swear to the Holy Quran. The fact that they were allowed to swear to the Holy Quran means that the objective is to make sure that justice is done," he said.

While stressing that there would be culprits who would be dealt with according to the law, the president also stated that he doesn't want people to use the commission to embarrass people that have not done anything wrong, warning that such would be an offence. "I don't want to preempt the commission but what has come to light is that each time there is a layout, the number of plots that are brought to cabinet and are approved by the cabinet that this is a particular layout, and you have 200 plots; you would be surprised that once it is approved, you find out that the actual layout is about 400 plots. This is what has been going on which is known to most people. What is interesting is the fact that most of those additional plots are never sold to Gambians," he disclosed.

He reiterated that the setting up of the commission is part of an anti-corruption crusade, and urged all and sundry to cooperate with it.   The Gambian leader also clarified that the commission is not meant to treat cases of land dispute between communities, re-emphasising that it has to do with illegal allocation and illegal sale of land.

Commending the members of the commission for accepting to do what he called a noble duty, President Jammeh assured them of his support, and urged them to do their work without fear or favour. "In this investigation, there is no prophet or disciple "all of us have to be accounted for our action and be responsible for our action. So in your investigations, don't look at anybody's eyes because we are one family and it is the family that decides to fight corruption," he concluded.

Speaking earlier, the vice president and minister of Women's Affairs, Her Excellency Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy congratulated the newly sworn in members of the commission and assured them of their unflinching support as a government. She  underscored the need for cooperation and support from the general public, saying, "without that support you cannot get that evidence that you need". She continued: "All we can say in this is let everybody cooperate for our common good. Whatever the president set up is for the common good of us and whenever he does that there must be a reason. I am sure like previous commissions that cooperation would be forthcoming from Gambians." She also commended the members for accepting the noble challenge.

For his part, the Attorney General and minister of Justice, Edward Gomez thanked President Jammeh for the initiative, saying it is not a surprise that Gambians continue to witness the positive steps taken by him [President Jammeh] to take this country to a higher height. He described the president as a "champion" in the arena of human endeavours, while also describing the swearing in of the members of the commission of enquiry into matters of land allocation in The Gambia as a gigantic stride towards excellence. Also speaking at the occasion, the minister of the Interior and Non-Governmental Organisations Affairs, Ousman Sonko thanked the Gambian leader for coming up with what he called a timely commission that would look into matters of land allocations in the country. This move, according to the Interior minister, is yet another manifestation of President Jammeh's commitment to see to it that every Gambian is given equal opportunity especially with regards to land.

Minister Sonko, while assuring the commission members of their support, also congratulated them for this development and for accepting the daunting challenge. Speaking at the occasion, Justice Almamy Fanding Taal, chairman of the commission, thanked President Jammeh for the confidence and the trust he bestowed on them to undertake what he called a very important and difficult assignment for the country. He described land as the most important asset in this country, stressing that its allocation and use must be done according to proper procedures and according to law.

Justice Taal expressed their commitment to look at all the evidence that are produced for their inspection, assuring that they would leave no stone unturned and no information untested to justify the confidence bestowed on them. "We would do this with dispatch and sincerity and with the love of our country," he promised.

Saihou Sanyang, permanent secretary No. 1 at the Ministry of Local Government and Lands, who is a member of the commission, expressed similar sentiments. Ebrima O Camara, secretary to cabinet administered the oath.