The director general of the Gambia Tourism Authority (GTA), yesterday said that shopkeepers whose stalls were demolished by soldiers on the directives of the GTA, were illegal occupants of the areas concerned.

Alhaji Alieu Mboge said the demolition was carried out following a site visit and complaints recieved from the hotel, that taxi drivers and the people around the vicinity werecausing disturbances by virtue of the noise  they generate through loud music. To arrest that situation, he said, the only remedy they had was to drive them away and demolish the structures.

Mr Mboge maintained that the occupants had no permission from the GTA.

According to him, people move to the beach and erect structures without permission from the GTA. He reminded the public that the GTA controls the Tourism Development Area (TDA) and that illegal occupation of spaces within the GTA was improper.