By Mary Poni
Vice President for the economic cluster Dr. James Wani Igga, has described the act of land grabbing as one of the major crimes and security threats in the country.
VP Igga made the statement while addressing the people of Rejaf Payam a few days ago. He condemned the practice of land grabbing and forceful acquisition of land – saying it is a criminal act.
“Land is one of the vital resources of any state and it must be protected and governed by land policy” he stressed.
He said the government must engage the community for agreement on the allocation of a piece of land to all levels of government and should be allocated to the community for their needs and for the benefit of the future generation to come.
Dr. Igga said as far as the community is concerned about land, a certain portion must be allocated to the local government under the authority of the County Commissioner for public use such as health centres, basic schools, markets and places of worship.
The vice president for the service cluster said the county commissioner shall agree with the state government too for the state government functions and projects, citing that the State government shall give the remaining portion of the land to the national government for national projects, diplomatic missions, etc.
He noted that as land is the vital national interest, a sovereign state cannot compromise on a piece of its land to foreign invasion or occupation. Adding that “rampant land grabbing in South Sudan is a security threat to the young nation”.
He encouraged the citizens to acquire land through legal procedures, saying it’s a matter of time and all land grabbers shall be brought to book to account.
Dr. Wani Igga urged the authorities to conduct a workshop on issues of Land Management for the Community, Local Government, State and National Government taking into account examples of Land Management Policies in Uganda, Ethiopia or any country in Africa.
Meanwhile, the governor of Central Equatoria State Emmanuel Antony Adil stated in his Christmas message that Land grabbing, communal violence, cattle-related incidents, and NAS insurgency are some of the challenges facing citizens in the State.
Adil said there have been conflicts related to land grabbing and unlawful allotment of land in the capital Juba, particularly including areas of Gumbo, Tokiman, Loggo East and West, Gorom and Somba among others.
“Central Equatoria is still facing challenges of insecurity ranging from land grabbing, communal violence, and cattle-related incidents and insecurity caused by the NAS insurgency,” said Adil
Nearly two weeks ago, the governor’s bodyguards clashed with informal settlers during an assessment tour in the Garbo area which left three people including a soldier killed during the confrontation, according to a police report.
He stated that there was a communal fighting which erupted between Tali and Kobura sections near the army (SSPDF) General Headquarters – Bilpam, which also left ten people dead, and others injured all these aroused due to land issues, and communal violence among others.
Governor Adil stated that although this Christmas will be celebrated under relative calm the country is faced with many challenges.