By Manas James
Jonglei State government in South Sudan declared two weeks ultimatum to all investors owning lands in the state to submit their title deeds for review or else face sanction.
Minister of Housing, Land and Public Utility Abraham Mamer Kur, who termed the decision “necessary”, said it aims at eliminating illegal and unscrupulous bankrupt investors.
“We want to call those who own investment lands to come and have their documents reviewed. If they have the right documents or no,” the minister said.
He added that some people, who own lands since 2007, have not put up any structure.
“So, we want to review them so that if you don’t have the capacity to develop the land, then it is given to someone else,” he stressed.
Those who have structures in their lands should also have their title deeds reviewed if the documents are genuine or not, so that the matter is rectified, Kur added.
The official said Jonglei state lags behind in development because since 2007, several investors leave their lands undeveloped.
“We are supposed to just give a one-year provisional period. If you don’t develop the land, we take it away from you,” he stressed.
He said the periods from 2007, 2008, and 2009 to date, is too long for those who have not been able to develop their lands.
The minister equates investment land use to general development of the state that also creates employment opportunities in the state.
Meanwhile, Director-general of Ministry of Housing, Land and Public Utility in Jonglei state, Mayen Biel Deng urged investors to hurry up.
“Those who have not develop their land and also fail to response on this call, then, the state ministry will reserve rights to reclaim the land and do other things,” he noted.