Land committee seeks community goodwill
The high-level committee formed by President Salva Kiir Mayardit to address land grabbing and informal settlement has called for cooperation from the local communities.
The statement released by the office of the governor yesterday confirmed that the committee paid a visit to Jebel Dinka to sensitise the populace on their obligation.
The chairperson of the committee, who serves as the national minister for land, housing and urban development, Michael Chiangjiek, appealed to the host community to encourage peace in support of government efforts to address disputes related to land grabbing.
“The chair, who also doubles as the National Minister of Land, Housing and Urban Development, Michael Chiangjiek, urged the communities residing around him to embrace peaceful co-existence, especially the host community of Bari, as the government expedites efforts to find an amicable solution to persisting land grabbing issues,” read the statement.
“The co-chair, who also doubles as the Governor of Central Equatoria State, Emmanuel Adil Anthony, called for cooperation from the civil population to the tasked committee as they embark on their major executions across Juba County on mapping the unmapped areas in Juba County,” said the governor, who is the co-chair of the committee.”
The commissioner of Juba County, Charles Joseph Wani, stressed that his office was willing to promote peaceful coexistence among the communities in his county.
“Notably, the residents of the area have appealed to the state authorities to expedite the process of obtaining legal documents and official showings to curb other illegalities perpetuated by some defiant elements of the community.”
Unfinished work
The 12 land committees headed by Minister Michael Chiangjiek and Governor Emmanuel Adil were set to complete their task after six months from August 2021. However, the time has elapsed before they complete their task.
The committee marked the areas with issues of land grabbing and informal settlement as Gumbo, Korok West, Lukwili, and Tokiman East and West.
Governor Adil, who is the deputy chairperson, promised that the land issues would be completely addressed by the end of January 2022.
‘‘We have been working very hard. It is because of the festive holiday that stopped us, but after January 1, we shall continue with our work. Hopefully, the completion will be in the month of January 2022, because we have been given six months to complete the jobs, “Adil said.
“The committees also found some of the challenges while we were doing the work, but we resolved them. I am also appealing to the citizens that they should be law-abiding citizens so that everything moves systematically, “he added.
Land dispute
Early in December 2021, the high-level committee clashed with citizens whom they accused of illegal settlement in Grabu Payam while the committee started to demolish the houses, leaving two people dead and two others wounded.
Two people were arrested concerning the clashes with the committee, which had been estimating the population, giving household numbers, among others.
In October 2021, the minister of land, housing, and urban development, Michael Chiangjiek, who chairs the committee, said they had introduced e-registration of land to expedite the land management system.
Chiangjiek said the digitalization of land registration would be the only viable solution to land disputes in the city and across the country.
