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In the Gambia, an individual's property rights could be at risk due to the lack of an organized land allocation system and an absence of authority figures who adhere to the rule of law to ensure land is rightfully bestowed to the owner. Much context pertaining to this issue can be explained through an examination of the history of the country and the development of its laws.
The Republic of the Gambia gained its independence from Great Britain on February 18, 1964. The Gambia has a population of approximately 1,840,454 citizens. The residing President of The Gambia, Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh, came to power in July 1994 after staging a military coup, overthrowing Sir Dawda Jawara.
Muslims constitute ninety percent of the population, and Christians four percent. Gambians are comprised of five major ethnicities, including the Mandinka who constitute the majority with 42 percent; the Fula 18 percent; Wolof, found in the Banjul, and Kombo Saint Mary’s areas, comprising 16 percent; Jolo, 10 percent; and finally the Serihuli constitute 9 percent. Regardless of religion and ethnicity, Gambians co-exist in harmony and have minimal tension among the ethnicities.
Gambia is comprised of 35 districts with a governor heading each division. Following changes in the national constitution, the president now appoints each governor. Prior to these changes, each governor inherited their positions through familial bloodlines and nepotism. Division governors are the link between the central governor and the regions, and are responsible for five to seven districts with their respective divisions. A District Authority exists in each district; a regional administrator oversees the regions; and a “Seyfo”, or Chief, who is appointed to oversee traditional administration and judicial functions also heads the districts. The Gambian village is headed by an Alkalo, or a traditional leader whom visitors should greet with a bag of kola nuts when first entering a Gambian village. Alkalos work with Area Councils to process land transaction documentation.
In each province there is a district authority, which manages and regulates the use of land, and these elected Area Councils “charge land rates collection, refuse collection, provide municipal maintenance while the physical planning unit issues clearances for plots of land purchase as well as building permits and occupation clearance.”
After the land is allocated by the Alkalo to tenants, it is registered with the Area Council. Tenants of Customary Land pay rent to the Area council yearly.
A local transfer document is obtained from the relevant municipality. When ownership of land is confirmed, a certificate of ownership is issued by the Area Council and Alkalo of the village. The registration fee for land transactions are used to maintain roads, markets, cemeteries, and provide waste collection and water
The Gambia’s legal system varies. At times it replicates English Common Law, and other times the system follows Islamic and Customary Law. The constitution of the Republic of the Gambia and laws of the Gambia are two statutory doctrines regulating land rights and transactions.
Types of Land Transactions
Land types are divided into three categories in the Gambia: freehold land, customary tenure, and leasehold land. The idea of freehold land tenure was derived from the historical precedent of the British system. This system gave out freehold grants of lands for various reasons to individuals and companies. Freehold land tenure is when individuals own the land outright, and the government cannot interfere with how the land is allocated and used.
Customary land tenure system originated from rules encompassed by Sharia law, and cultural practices. The customary land tenure system is practiced in the provincial areas. Historically, in this system, the first person to step foot on unclaimed land in the Gambia became the owner of that land. Consequently, the person who claimed the land became the de facto “Alkalo” and the regulator of the property. The land is then recognized as inheritance land, and can be passed on from generation to generation. Such land is generally used for subsistence farming for the family and tribal clan, and can be rented out to tenants.
Leasehold land tenure system is “an arrangement under which the landowner gives the land to someone else to use temporarily in return for rent.” The land owned by the government of Gambia can be leased for a maximum of 99 years, according to the 1990 Lands Act.
With stipulations, the tenant pays rent to the government to live and uphold for the timeframe identified on the lease. The lease is prepared by the Department of Lands and Surveys, which falls under the Regional Administration and Lands. The Ministry of Local Government & Lands becomes the landlord of the premises by legally signing the lease. The administrative fees to transfer and register the land is given to the central government. The cost for each land transfer is dependent on the size of land. Tenants must build on the land within two years from the initiation of the lease. The state has the power to repossess and reallocate land to another person if these conditions are not met.
Alkalos Roles and Responsibilities:
In the Customary Land Tenure System, under the "Seyfo”, are “Alkalos.” The number of Alkalos working in a district depends on the amount of villages within that district. The Alkalo is the village elder and works as a mediator, allocating land for residential and agricultural purposes to villagers. Alkalos are either elected mainly in urban areas or inherit their positions in provinces.
Inheritance land is considered communal farming land. Ideally, the Alkalo can give out his land to any member of the village, including foreign farmers who come from neighboring countries. A portion of crops grown by farmers are given to the Alkalo as payment. It is understood that anyone who borrows village land must return the land back to the Alkalo after the land is no longer required. The land is then reallocated to others for farming. The village land cannot be used for personal use and cannot be subdivided or given away.
In an interview an Alkalo from Basse in the Upper River Division, who has been in the position for 9 years, described how he obtained his position through family lineage. His brother who held the role previously passed, and he automatically obtained the position. His brother would obtain the position next. The Alkalo mentioned that the land was customary. There have been minor land disputes in the area.
Ongoing Issues
Some villagers who receive temporary allocation of land for farming, especially during the rainy season between March and October, assume they are given the land on a permanent basis. This assumption causes conflict between the legal owners and the temporary farmers.
Furthermore, the constant change of Alkalos and poor record keeping practices create other issues. Because record keeping is informal, sometimes land records are lost or misplaced, causing mix-ups when identifying the rightful owner of each plot. When court orders are issued for nonresidents to vacate the land, some residents still stay. Therefore, court cases regarding land disputes are drawn out in Gambian Courts where Alkalos and residents fight for the land title.
Proof of ownership can be proven by any of the five ways: 1) traditional evidence; 2) production of documents of title; 3) acts of the person claiming the land; 4) acts of long possession; and 5) proof of possession of connected or adjacent land.
Before an informal record keeping process was implemented, Alkalos and tenants conducted land transactions through word of mouth. Because paperwork documenting the rightful owner of the land was not historically recorded, owners have a hard time proving their legitimate rights to the land.
Previously, Alkalos had the reputation of providing resources to ensure their villages prospered. Now Alkalos have the reputation of wanting to make money by reselling land that belongs to other tenants by issuing counterfeit leases. This is known as double allocation of land, with Alkalos illegally selling one plot of land to two to three different people.
The Way Forward
To minimize land disputes in the Gambia, a trusting collaboration between the national and local governments of Gambia and international governmental organizations could assist in streamlining the land allocation and transfer system. Alkalos should undergo more rigorous training and testing, including ethics training in processing land transaction documents. The United Nations Development Program should institute an Alkalos Ethics training through their Support to Access to Justice for the Poor program. The program is designed to “support the implementation” of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act (2005) and the Legal Act (2008).
A uniform record keeping system could ensure rightful owners obtain their land for the time indicated on their lease. Area councils can come together to implement this task. Lack of electricity and technology can be challenging when instituting an electronic record keeping system. Therefore, a uniformed, manual process should be substituted.
Photo: Deutsche Welle (cc).
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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The Gambian Land Obstacle
May 15, 2014
In the Gambia, an individual's property rights could be at risk due to the lack of an organized land allocation system and an absence of authority figures who adhere to the rule of law to ensure land is rightfully bestowed to the owner. Much context pertaining to this issue can be explained through an examination of the history of the country and the development of its laws.
The Republic of the Gambia gained its independence from Great Britain on February 18, 1964. The Gambia has a population of approximately 1,840,454 citizens. The residing President of The Gambia, Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh, came to power in July 1994 after staging a military coup, overthrowing Sir Dawda Jawara.
Muslims constitute ninety percent of the population, and Christians four percent. Gambians are comprised of five major ethnicities, including the Mandinka who constitute the majority with 42 percent; the Fula 18 percent; Wolof, found in the Banjul, and Kombo Saint Mary’s areas, comprising 16 percent; Jolo, 10 percent; and finally the Serihuli constitute 9 percent. Regardless of religion and ethnicity, Gambians co-exist in harmony and have minimal tension among the ethnicities.
Gambia is comprised of 35 districts with a governor heading each division. Following changes in the national constitution, the president now appoints each governor. Prior to these changes, each governor inherited their positions through familial bloodlines and nepotism. Division governors are the link between the central governor and the regions, and are responsible for five to seven districts with their respective divisions. A District Authority exists in each district; a regional administrator oversees the regions; and a “Seyfo”, or Chief, who is appointed to oversee traditional administration and judicial functions also heads the districts. The Gambian village is headed by an Alkalo, or a traditional leader whom visitors should greet with a bag of kola nuts when first entering a Gambian village. Alkalos work with Area Councils to process land transaction documentation.
In each province there is a district authority, which manages and regulates the use of land, and these elected Area Councils “charge land rates collection, refuse collection, provide municipal maintenance while the physical planning unit issues clearances for plots of land purchase as well as building permits and occupation clearance.”
After the land is allocated by the Alkalo to tenants, it is registered with the Area Council. Tenants of Customary Land pay rent to the Area council yearly.
A local transfer document is obtained from the relevant municipality. When ownership of land is confirmed, a certificate of ownership is issued by the Area Council and Alkalo of the village. The registration fee for land transactions are used to maintain roads, markets, cemeteries, and provide waste collection and water
The Gambia’s legal system varies. At times it replicates English Common Law, and other times the system follows Islamic and Customary Law. The constitution of the Republic of the Gambia and laws of the Gambia are two statutory doctrines regulating land rights and transactions.
Types of Land Transactions
Land types are divided into three categories in the Gambia: freehold land, customary tenure, and leasehold land. The idea of freehold land tenure was derived from the historical precedent of the British system. This system gave out freehold grants of lands for various reasons to individuals and companies. Freehold land tenure is when individuals own the land outright, and the government cannot interfere with how the land is allocated and used.
Customary land tenure system originated from rules encompassed by Sharia law, and cultural practices. The customary land tenure system is practiced in the provincial areas. Historically, in this system, the first person to step foot on unclaimed land in the Gambia became the owner of that land. Consequently, the person who claimed the land became the de facto “Alkalo” and the regulator of the property. The land is then recognized as inheritance land, and can be passed on from generation to generation. Such land is generally used for subsistence farming for the family and tribal clan, and can be rented out to tenants.
Leasehold land tenure system is “an arrangement under which the landowner gives the land to someone else to use temporarily in return for rent.” The land owned by the government of Gambia can be leased for a maximum of 99 years, according to the 1990 Lands Act.
With stipulations, the tenant pays rent to the government to live and uphold for the timeframe identified on the lease. The lease is prepared by the Department of Lands and Surveys, which falls under the Regional Administration and Lands. The Ministry of Local Government & Lands becomes the landlord of the premises by legally signing the lease. The administrative fees to transfer and register the land is given to the central government. The cost for each land transfer is dependent on the size of land. Tenants must build on the land within two years from the initiation of the lease. The state has the power to repossess and reallocate land to another person if these conditions are not met.
Alkalos Roles and Responsibilities:
In the Customary Land Tenure System, under the "Seyfo”, are “Alkalos.” The number of Alkalos working in a district depends on the amount of villages within that district. The Alkalo is the village elder and works as a mediator, allocating land for residential and agricultural purposes to villagers. Alkalos are either elected mainly in urban areas or inherit their positions in provinces.
Inheritance land is considered communal farming land. Ideally, the Alkalo can give out his land to any member of the village, including foreign farmers who come from neighboring countries. A portion of crops grown by farmers are given to the Alkalo as payment. It is understood that anyone who borrows village land must return the land back to the Alkalo after the land is no longer required. The land is then reallocated to others for farming. The village land cannot be used for personal use and cannot be subdivided or given away.
In an interview an Alkalo from Basse in the Upper River Division, who has been in the position for 9 years, described how he obtained his position through family lineage. His brother who held the role previously passed, and he automatically obtained the position. His brother would obtain the position next. The Alkalo mentioned that the land was customary. There have been minor land disputes in the area.
Ongoing Issues
Some villagers who receive temporary allocation of land for farming, especially during the rainy season between March and October, assume they are given the land on a permanent basis. This assumption causes conflict between the legal owners and the temporary farmers.
Furthermore, the constant change of Alkalos and poor record keeping practices create other issues. Because record keeping is informal, sometimes land records are lost or misplaced, causing mix-ups when identifying the rightful owner of each plot. When court orders are issued for nonresidents to vacate the land, some residents still stay. Therefore, court cases regarding land disputes are drawn out in Gambian Courts where Alkalos and residents fight for the land title.
Proof of ownership can be proven by any of the five ways: 1) traditional evidence; 2) production of documents of title; 3) acts of the person claiming the land; 4) acts of long possession; and 5) proof of possession of connected or adjacent land.
Before an informal record keeping process was implemented, Alkalos and tenants conducted land transactions through word of mouth. Because paperwork documenting the rightful owner of the land was not historically recorded, owners have a hard time proving their legitimate rights to the land.
Previously, Alkalos had the reputation of providing resources to ensure their villages prospered. Now Alkalos have the reputation of wanting to make money by reselling land that belongs to other tenants by issuing counterfeit leases. This is known as double allocation of land, with Alkalos illegally selling one plot of land to two to three different people.
The Way Forward
To minimize land disputes in the Gambia, a trusting collaboration between the national and local governments of Gambia and international governmental organizations could assist in streamlining the land allocation and transfer system. Alkalos should undergo more rigorous training and testing, including ethics training in processing land transaction documents. The United Nations Development Program should institute an Alkalos Ethics training through their Support to Access to Justice for the Poor program. The program is designed to “support the implementation” of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act (2005) and the Legal Act (2008).
A uniform record keeping system could ensure rightful owners obtain their land for the time indicated on their lease. Area councils can come together to implement this task. Lack of electricity and technology can be challenging when instituting an electronic record keeping system. Therefore, a uniformed, manual process should be substituted.
Photo: Deutsche Welle (cc).
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
