By: Mama A. Touray
Following The Fatu Network’s publication on the alleged illegal construction of residential houses on the Ebotown Badala Wetland, the Minister of Environment, Climate Change, and Natural Resources, Rohey John Manjang, visited the wetland and assured the residents that if houses are to be demolished after their investigation into the issuance of the land, they will proceed with the demolition.
Hon. Manjang’s remarks came shortly after one of the residents on the wetland remarked that other regimes had come and left them there because they voted for them, and that if the current regime removed them, they would not vote for them.
She stressed, “Those kinds of false threats, we are not going to buy into them, not in my tenure as minister. I am not going to fall for it. We are going to make sure that we constitute a team that will comprise of the SIS and security so that we can conduct a proper investigation into how they were allowed to settle here, because everything must have started somewhere.”
She added that once they gather concrete information on how the residents obtained the land, they will follow a guiding methodology to mitigate and resolve the matter.
“We are going to ensure that those assignments are placed under a timeline so that we can act as quickly as possible. If houses are to be demolished, we will do that. It will not be about elections or voting. We are going to work with our conscience,” she added.
Hon. Manjang continued: “We all have a stake to play because we have seen people have access to electricity, pay their rates, and have the Alkalo’s documentation, meaning they have legalized their stay in this area, which should not have been allowed. They backfilled the place with tires and trash, and I know they are planning to continue. How can reasonable people in their full senses agree to stay in the wetland?”
She stated that the people residing on the wetland did not have proper soakaways, and when it rains, they call the government for help. When the government intervenes, they say, “We are not going to vote for you if you remove us from this settlement.”
“It doesn’t matter whether they vote for us or not. What is important is that we do what is right. We all understand that this is a nature reserve environment, meant for our ecosystem. We need the fish to survive; we need the natural resources to survive. So, if we are destroying them for the sake of a few people’s interests, then that is not what we call sustainable development,” she emphasized.
“No amount of threat is going to stop us from fulfilling our duties, and I want that to be very clear. It is unfortunate that some of us fail in our responsibilities at some point, and it affects the entire chain of government,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Alkalo of Ebotown confirmed that those residing on the wetland have the Alkalo’s attestation. “It wasn’t my father’s fault to give these people documentation because, at the time, no one had land from him for more than D900. It’s a fact that anyone who has land in the wetland has the Alkalo’s attestation.”
