South Sudan land commission seeks financial assistance to clean up land ownership issues
By Ngor Aguot
July 21, 2010 (WUNROK) — The South Sudan Lands Commission is seeking financial assistance to undertake a thorough land use and ownership verification exercise in all ten states of southern Sudan.
Robert Ladu Luki, chairperson of the land commission, in an official appeal statement to the press dated Thursday 15, said irregularities in land use and ownership in Juba are a reflection of the situation in other southern state capitals.
The commission’s intention is to use the funds to report on the seriousness of the problem and set out methods and practices the government could use to address the issue Luki explained.
Many of the land officers in the regional government of southern Sudan and in the states have been accused of corruption and abuse of their offices for personal gains but officials from the government have always been quick to describe the allegations as unsubstantiated and without evidence.
The cabinet affairs minister in the regional government, Kosti Manibe, commended the land commission, on Saturday, for having a good record in exposing land use problems.
Manibe said that particular attention needs to be given to settling land disputes using professional investigators to verify allegations.
The press statement by the South Sudan Lands Commission received by the Sudan Tribune on Sunday explained the financial assistance was needed by the commission for a clean up exercise in order to set records straight and ensure that all implicated in land misuse scams would be prosecuted.
Deliberate change of land use, such as building bars or a department store on an open space or reserved areas interferes with urban planning efforts, Luki said.
“This is why Land commission has been entrusted with the duty to take charge of public property. We are given powers to maintain law and order without prejudice, he declared. No one will be bullied in the course of implementing the clean up exercise because justice will take its course,” he clarified.
According to Luki clerics, party leaders and other dignitaries should, “avoid using your influence to force land officers bypass regulations because at the end of the day the officers will be in trouble and the land acquired illegally will be confiscated.”
“Those who believe that the exercise will be short-lived are mistaken. It is a long term plan to instil a sense of discipline and will be maintained to make sure that unnecessary land problems are avoided,” he stressed.
(ST)