By Prince J Musa in Kenema
The Minister of Lands, Housing and Country Planning Dr. Turad Senesie has in a meeting with community stakeholders disclosed plans of transforming the Kenema Airfield into a Mini-Economic zone.
Senesie on a trip to that part of the country on 3rd April told Stakeholders that the government intends to use proceeds from the Airfield to develop another airfield stationed between Kenema and Bo.
He said the decision was to stop encroachment by people and advised those that have bought plots at the airfield from individuals to go to the ministry for screening.
He explained that the Ministry intends to sell the remaining land to individuals that are willing to establish businesses, stating that the cost of a plot of land is NLe25,000 (twenty-five thousand).
Speaking on the procedure, Senesie explained that the payment should be done at the bank and receipt processed at the ministry. He said there are certain conditions that will be given to those that will purchase the land, such as developing the property within a period of one year or it will be sold to someone else. Another condition is that no one should build a flat.
The minister further stated that the maximum size of land that will be sold to a single individual is two towns.
He said for the economic zone all the buildings are expected to look like a shopping plaza and that resources collected will be used to provide electricity, water supply amongst other amenities.
The minister revealed that there are already over two billion old Leones equivalent which have been deposited into the bank for the lands in Bo and Kenema.
Concerning those who over the period bought land from illegal owners and erected structures, he said they will have to legalize their structures at the ministry based on standard procedures, but warned that structures built on the road will be demolished.
He also spoke about those land-owning families that had refused to recognize the compensation made in 2019, and said ‘’everything on compensation was negotiated and agreed upon not imposed on the land owners’’.
One of the land owning families of Kenema airfield from Tissor village Swarray Bockarie expressed concern that they as family did not accept the compensation that year because the government would have paid for a long lease rather than total ownership of the land. He pleaded with the government to still consider their appeal.
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