By Nasratu Kargbo
A Member of Parliament has raised concern about the nightly burning of vast parcels of land in the Freetown peninsular by unknown persons. He said more than a mile of the land area is cleared every night. Speaking on Standing Order Hon. Afiju Kanja who resides in the Baw-Baw area said when he approached forest guards in the area they told him they were deployed to protect “only wetlands”. At that point the Speaker of Parliament Dr. Abass Bundu urged the Environment Minister Dr. Foday Jaward who was in parliament on another issue to “take note” of the concerns expressed by Hon. Kanja.
Meanwhile, there are mounting concerns from members of the public about restrictions put in place by the Ministry of Land to access properties in the Freetown peninsula. Landowners who spoke to Politico said they were being prevented from building their homes by soldiers. The government recently deployed the soldiers in the area saying they want to put an end to land grabbing.
The Minister of Lands told Politico that “people who have legal claims to parcels of land in the areas covered by the soldiers should approach his ministry so that their document would be verified for them to have access to the land”. He described the process as ongoing and wouldn’t be drawn on how long it would take for such requests for access to be processed.
sked how long the soldiers would be deployed around the peninsula, minister Senessi replied “as long as the government wishes to have them deploy on the land for the safety and security of state lands”.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (17/03/22)
