The Gambia government has issued a statement rejecting a report of de-reserving Abuko Nature Reserve after condemnation among Gambians including environmental activities.

This comes after reports emerged that the cabinet approved the Ministry of Lands, Regional Government and Religious Affairs to allocate a portion of the nature forest for construction of a football pitch.

However, in a counter statement to the reports, the Ministry of Information claimed that the youth of Lamin sought the support of the lands ministry to allocate them a portion within the nature reserve to construct a football field. But the ministry added that this report of a sub-committee assigned for the task was rejected by the cabinet.

“The first proposal presented involves the option of de-reserving a portion of the Abuko Nature Reserve to create a football field for the community. However, the Cabinet firmly rejected this proposal. The decision was clear – not a single meter of land will be de-reserved from the Abuko Nature Reserve. It is important to note that not all proposals presented to the Cabinet gets approved by the Cabinet.

“Cabinet approved a second proposal which involves the allocation of land in Lamin, along with a portion of land from NARI, for the development of sports and recreational facilities, including a National Football Stadium. These facilities will cater to a variety of sporting activities, benefiting the youth of Lamin and surrounding areas,” the Ministry of Information said.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba