By William Madouk
Central Equatoria State (CES) lawmakers have formed a joint committee to identify and expose land grabbers and bringing their glorious days to an end.
The impunity-covered powerful land grabbers were put on notice series presentations by the state government officials, on insecurity and land grabbing in Juba.
Among the presenters were the minister of housing, land, and public utilities, Fred Laku Raymon; acting minister of local government, Wayi Godwill; and Juba commissioner, Charles Wani.
A seven-member co-chaired committee was formed to unearth unscrupulous land cartels that sell public utilities to unsuspecting buyers.
Jacob Aligo Lo-Lado, the chief whip for the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) party at the state assembly advised that there is a need for the president’s intervention, as the House also did the probe to identify the cartels.
“We need the intervention of His Excellency, the president of the Republic of South Sudan, to bring to order those who are involved in land grabbing, especially the political elites and the military commanders,” said Lo-Lado.
“I recommend that this August House form its own select committee to go and cross-check all the information that has been provided to the House by these three (summoned) officials,” he continued.
He added that the fight should not be left to CES authorities alone and called on the public and civil society to join hands to combat the land-grabbing menace.
After thorough deliberation, the House formed an ad hoc joint committee to be spearheaded by a specialized committee on land and security in the state assembly to study and submit their findings after three weeks.
“I am suggesting a seven-member committee—three from security and four from the Committee of Land—and one of the terms of reference to collect all the relevant documents so that they serve as evidence as we pursue issues of land grabbing,” one MP submitted on the motion.
The committee was also tasked with assessing and investigating the issues and magnitude of land grabbing in Juba County, as well as the number of people displaced by the unlawful act.
“Let them [the committee] establish for us a list of senior security personnel that are involved in the land grabbing,” the MP said.
The legislators also wanted the investigative committee to establish the number of lives that were lost as a result of the incidents of land grabbing.
The committee will be co-chaired by the chairperson of physical infrastructure, Mr. Gaitano Lado, and the chairperson of security, Mr. Aloro Isaac; the remaining five are co-opted members.