Brikama Area Council (BAC) has threatened to sue the government over demolition of roadside business structures.

The council said it condemned the demolition of market stalls in and around the Brikama Central Market from 8 November 2023 to date in the name of Operation Clear the Roads.

BAC cited Sections 193 and 194 of the Constitution of the Gambia 1997 and Section 48 of the Local Governments Act 2002, it is only the BAC that has the legal authority to undertake such act. 

“The council maintains that none of the aforementioned stakeholders, being the GPF, NRA, and Physical Planning, have any legal authority to exercise such powers over its markets without its blessings or an order of the court of law. The council states that the said operation had no such blessing from it nor any court of law.”

According to BAC, “it will never condone, neither endorse nor sanction any such destruction of its markets in the name of any task force or operation.

“The council has thus engaged its legal representatives to take all necessary legal actions to put a stop to the ongoing destruction of its markets by the said stakeholders, as well as to seek any appropriate redress for the same, in order to deter the future recurrence of the same.

“The council believes that task forces of such nature belong to the era of dictatorship in the history of this country, and are inappropriate in a democratic system, as they do not conform to the principle of the rule of law, which accords everyone with reasonable notice and an opportunity to challenge any arbitrary decision to the court before their implementation.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba