Gunjur-Marlborough Link bannedFriday, July 19, 2013 A longstanding link between the Kombo South coastal village of Gunjur and Marlborough of the United Kingdom has been banned by the authorities amidst an unresolved controversy surrounding the decades-old link. The ban was announced Wednesday during a meeting in Gunjur, presided over by the minister of Lands and Regional Government, Momodou Aki Bayo. The meeting was also attended by the governor of West Coast Region, Lamin Sanneh; the alkalo of the village, chief of the District, Council of Elders, members of the Village Development Committee, villagers and other concerned officials. The directives for the ban, according to Minister Bayo, came from the Office of the President after several dialogues with the people of Gunjur to resolve the differences failed to reach any consensus; apparently leading to such a decision. Minister Bayo made reference to the previous meetings he had with the villagers to amicably resolve the chaos, which he said were fruitless; and consequently, had to involve the Office of the President. He described the situation as “embarrassing”, noting that the village that is known for its unity could have resolved the situation without intervention from the authorities. The Lands and Regional Government minister then ordered the dissolution of the Gunjur Link Committee, urging the members to hand over all the materials they have in their possession to the alkalo. He said all activities with Marlborough Link have to cease immediately. The secretary of Gunjur Link Committee, Mankang Touray, informed that the committee has nothing in its possession to hand over, except for an orchard, which he said, was given to them by the village to sell its produce and use the income generated to fund some of its activities. Touray further informed that all that they used to have in their possession are now with TARUD "All that the Committee is responsible for is the exchange visit to and from the UK. Apart from that anything project wise is related to TARUD," he concluded. The alkalo of the village, Alhaji Sulayman Touray, told the gathering that his knowledge of what goes in and out of the Link is limited. He added that all that he knows is that the Committee communicates with the group in UK. The controversy The Gunjur-Marlborough Link has existed for 30 years during which time the two sides mutually gained enormous benefits from the relationship. But the bone of contention was that the Link Committee in Gunjur was not reporting its activities to the village; which prompted the village to hold it accountable to the people. They were invited to meetings with the villagers, but were turned down, according to the VDC chairman, Demba Jobe. But that notwithstanding, despite the controversy, the Gunjur-Marlborough Link has registered numerous developments in the village ranging from education to health and agriculture amongst others. Author: Zainab Faal | Media Actions See Also |