His Excellency the President Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh on Friday afternoon presided over the swearing-in ceremony of members of a commission of enquiry into matters of land allocation in The Gambia.

The ceremony which took place at State House was witnessed by the Vice President Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, the Secretary General and head of the Civil Service Dr Njogu Bah and cabinet ministers.

The five sworn-in members of the commission, who took the two oaths of trust and secrecy, were Justice Almami Fanding Taal, Chairman; Buba HMM Njie; Marafang A Bayo; Momodou O Badjie and Saikou TMF Sanyang, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Local Government and Lands.

Speaking on the occasion, the President Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh said the objective of the commission is to bring justice to the Gambian people. He indicated that the commission will give every Gambian the opportunity to come forward with what information they have and give it to the commission for the benefit of the country.

"The success of the commission is not based on its competence but on Gambians coming forward to exercise their rights and duty to their country by coming forward with any information that will help the commission to do their work and on time," he pointed out.

The President then expressed government's commitment to wipe out malpractices and dubious activities especially on land sales and allocation. He however stressed that the commission is not for witch-hunting neither is it for people to use to implicate others who have not done anything wrong.

He warned that such practice is unlawful because providing false information to authorities could lead the culprits to court.

He said the commission is meant to stamp out corruption in land transactions and emphasized that corruption is evil, ungodly as it makes thousands of people suffer for the benefit of few greedy individuals. The President however pointed that the commission's mandate does not include treating cases of land disputes among communities. "The commission has to deal with eligal land allocation and land sales and this are the terms of reference", he emphasized.

The Vice President Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy thanked the newly sworn-in members for accepting the daunting challenge noting that land is precious. She affirmed the competence of the members of the commission who, she said, have worked in or have expertise in the area of land.

She called on Gambians to cooperate with the commission in the dispensation of their duties and hoped that the commission will come up with rules and some kind of recommendations to government in order to have correct measures in place for the future. She finally assured them of government's full support.

In his vote of thanks, the Chairman of the commission, Justice Almami Fanding Taal promised that they will be true to the oath they had just sworn in and acknowledged on behalf of the commission their cognizance that land is the most important asset of the country and that its allocation and use must be done according to procedures and law.

Justice Taal further assured that as the commission progresses they will leave no stone unturned and that they will do their best to justify the confidence His Excellency the President had on them.

Other speakers included the Ministers of Justice and the Interior.

By Alhagie Ceesay and Aji Fatou Jammeh