Interior Minister Kells Kotu Quarry Residents to Vacate Their Homes

FOROYAA Newspaper (Serrekunda)

Bakary Y Jammeh

16 May 2011

The residents of Kotu Quarry have once again been warned to vacate their homes at a meeting held at Kotu Quarry on Saturday 14th May 2011, this time by Mr. Ousman Sonko, the Minister of the Interior who was accompanied by Mr. Junkung Colley Director of Physical Planning and Mr. Yankuba Tamba, Commissioner of Immigration.

The residents had earlier been warned and received notices to vacate their homes as they were said to be illegally settled at Kotu Quarry. But the residents have indicated that the alternative plots allocated to them at Mariama Kunda are unsuitable and even there time is required to build a house.

All three officials asked the desperate residents to immediately vacate their homes before they face dire consequences since the order was not from them but the President who gave them the command to evict them from Kotu Quarry. They advised the affected residents to peacefully vacate their homes as they were allocated plots at Mariama Kunda. They were further told that those who were yet to receive documents for their plots will receive it on Tuesday 17 May 2011 after which they will give order for the said place to be demolished.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Ousman Sonko, Interior Minister said he is working under the command of the President and he is empowered by the President to demolish their compounds when they fail to vacate from the said place. He added that he has been trying to get them to comply with the order but it seems that they (the residents of Kotu Quarry) are not willing to comply with the said order and warned them of dire consequences if they refuse to comply with the order.

Also speaking at the meeting Mr. Junkung Colley, the Director of Physical Planning, who said when they come to demolish structures at the said place they would not wait for anybody to remove their belongings since they have already been warned to vacate their homes before their intervention.

Mr. Colley added that if they fail to vacate their homes they would just wake up one day in the morning and see caterpillars that would come to demolish their compounds and that, he said, will be a serious destruction of their household properties. He advised them to leave before the unexpected would happen to them. Mr. Yankuba Tamba, the commissioner of Immigration also expressed similar sentiments.

Speaking to this reporter an affected old man said they would be very disappointed if the order was from the President as he is said to be very concerned about the well being of the people especially the school going children. “How can the president order such harassment to his own people?” asked the desperate and sad looking old man. He pointed out that looking at their condition he doesn’t think the president would make such a decision to demolish their homes when they have no place to live; that it would be difficult for even those who have the means to do so as the rainy season is fast approaching not to talk of a person who is living from hand to mouth. “I am calling on the president to intervene to find a solution to our problem,” the old man appealed.

“We don’t believe that it is the president who ordered these people to vacate us from our homes,” said a school girl. She said if that is true there will be no hope in their future since they would be displaced children in their own country as most of them will find it difficult to continue their education and the poverty of their parents would deepen. She was unable to hold back her tears.

Another young girl said what made her cry is that her life is going to be a mess as she is an ambitious student whose education is going to be affected whenever the move takes effect. She added that she is a student at Muslim Senior Secondary School and relocating her father at Mariama Kunda would no doubt affect her schooling since the cost of commuting between Kotu and their school is a constraint to her father not to talk of between Mariama Kunda and Muslim Senior Secondary School. She said she normally gets to school late as she often relies on lifts.

“We were being assisted by our neighbours who always sympathize with us by providing our family some food whenever we lack food to eat,” the school girl added. “My doubt is who is going to assist our family after relocating to the thick forest?” she asked.

The residents said they have sent an appeal to the president for his intervention to solve the problem before it’s too late as they do not agree with the decision of the physical planning department to relocate their families to a thick forest.

Most of all those who spoke to this reporter have all appealed to the president to intervene to avert a violation of their right for no good reason.

One Haruna Sanyang, a student, who was taking down notes at the meeting, was arrested by security personnel. Foroyaa will find out whether he was later released.

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