To prevent a future in which Gambians become strangers on their own land, the NBP will initiate and enforce Comprehensive Land Reform Laws that aim to protect indigenous land rights, regulate land sales and modernize land management systems across the country. This effort will be implemented in partnership with local governments, customary land custodians and land development experts.

The NBP will introduce legislation to create a National Land Ownership Protection Framework, with the following core principles:

• Only Gambians citizens and residents with legal status will be allowed to own freehold title to land designated as residential, agricultural or community land.
• Foreign individuals or companies may lease land only under strict investment-related conditions with clear expiration periods and government oversight.
• All sales of community lands, government reserves or ecologically sensitive lands without official approval and economic justification will be deemed illegal and punishable by law.
• Public interest must be at the center of all land transfers. No land shall be sold or leased without clear economic, environmental or developmental benefit to the state or local community.

To eliminate fraud, improve transparency and prevent duplicate or false ownership claims, the NBP will modernize the national land registration process by:

• Establishing a Central Digital Land Registry under the Ministry of Local Government and lands.
• Digitizing all existing land records, leases, community allocations and title deeds.
• Launch a Geo-mapped National Land Ownership Database, accessible by all government agencies and local councils.
• Issue biometric land ownership IDs to validated landowners.
• Integrate land related databases with national security and anti-corruption agencies to detect illicit transactions and general land sale and ownership.

This system will protect Gambians from illegal land grabs and ensure the government can plan infrastructure and development around verified ownership boundaries.

Given that land administration is traditionally handled at the grassroots level, NBP will empower Alkalos, Sayfos (district chiefs) and local councils with the legal authority to protect communal lands; but also hold them accountable for all land-related decisions.

The NBP will also build the capacity of local governments to record, manage and report land transactions in alignment with national laws. The new reform laws will also require all land transfers or leases at the community level to be submitted for review and approval by a national land oversight board, especially for high-value or foreign-involved transactions.

Special legal training and technological support will be provided to local councils to ensure they are equipped to handle these responsibilities transparently.

In this endeavor, the NBP will establish a Land Audit and Reclamation Taskforce that will be tasked to review and investigate unexplained or suspicious land acquisitions, particularly by foreign nationals, government officials or companies without visible development goals.

The task force shall also recommend reclamation of land improperly sold or acquired without due process.

The task force shall as well work with the National Anti-Corruption Commission to prosecute those involved in illegal land transactions. This measure aims to correct historical injustices and prevent future abuse of land governance systems.

Protection of Farmland and Environmental Reserves

NBP realized that much of the land being targeted for private development includes productive farmland and environmental reserves. Under the new reform laws, all farmlands currently being used for crop production will be declared protected zones unless officially reclassified through the Ministry of Agriculture.

• The Gambia Government will designate and protect agricultural green belts around rural towns and settlements.
• Additionally, the sale of any land within protected agricultural or forest zones will be strictly prohibited unless for purposes that enhance national food security or reforestation efforts.

In this way, NBP will safeguard both the ecological balance and food sovereignty of The Gambia.

To support the national development agenda, the NBP will create land access programs that allow young Gambians, especially women and youth to access land for agriculture, housing or entrepreneurship.

The reform bill will also Introduce affordable lease-to-own land programs for first time Gambian homeowners and farmers. The new law shall provide free or subsidized legal support to rural Gambians navigating land disputes, documentation or inheritance claims thus Promoting communal land trusts where communities can collectively manage land while securing individual use rights.

It is part of our belief that land must empower Gambians not displace them.

To ensure that the community is fully onboard with the reform laws, the NBP will launch a National Land Education Campaign to inform citizens of their rights and obligations regarding land. This mass information campaign will include:

• Broadcasting on radio and television, public awareness programs in local languages
• Hosting community workshops and town hall meetings on land laws
• Publishing and distributing simplified versions of the Land Reform Act
• Introducing land governance education in schools and institutions of higher education

The NBP strongly believes that educating the population will help reduce land disputes, prevent fraud and foster civic responsibility.