By Bida Elly David
The Governor of Central Equatoria State, Emmanuel Adil Anthony has thrown blames on the people over misused of land.
Adil said State’s inhabitants are the contributors to land hitches and its uses; he proposed awareness on Land Bill to the public as a remedy to mitigate disputes among the society.
The governor made the remark during day three of consultative workshop on deliberation of State’s land Bill.
Speaking during the last day of the workshop, Governor Adil Anthony that people need to be enlightened on the use of land and its significance to the eco system.
He said people are only focused on attainment of land for settlement forgetting, the agricultural benefits being one of the major perspectives which was vital for production, thus jeopardizing situation over land usage.
“If people can only consider the importance of land as being used for settlement then it is a wrong ideology forgetting the other use of it for farming and animal production. We need to understand the use of land at all levels but not necessarily for business and settlement which limits our level of understanding its significance,” he said.
Adil stressed that deforestation for charcoal burning and firewood have been some of the factors that have impeded agricultural activities in the State.
He said people need to be educated about the uses and the importance of land through the Land Bill so that complaints are reduced.
“Cutting down trees for charcoal and construction have been blocking rain from pouring causing farming activities to hang and as a result, starvation hits the land,” the governor said.
“There is need of massive awareness about the land Bill in Central Equatoria State together with the partners and the media in order to teach people on the use of land as well as its significance. Land has been inflicted by both natural and man- made problems in regards to its problems,” he added.
Adil said his leadership would put into consideration all the recommendations that the participants have come with during the three days’ workshop.
“We welcome your recommendations on the Land Bill and promise to put them into consideration to aid in finalizing it into an act. This Land Bill will educate us to understand the appropriate use of land and help us use the laws as penalties against the violators,” he said.
He however called on the people to make proper use of land to serve the purpose of development.