By Prince J Musa in Kenema
Land for life Initiative, a project supported by BMZ through WHH implemented by five local non-governmental organizations in Sierra Leone has on the 9th June 2021, engaged paramount chiefs in Kenema district through the District Multi-stakeholders platforms.
The purpose of the engagement according to officials is to engage the paramount chiefs on land disputes that are affecting people in their different chiefdoms.
In his statement, the project facilitator in Kenema district through one of the implementing partners, the Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD), Charles Aiah Jabba, told the paramount chiefs and their subjects that the platform is meant to bring affected community people together on land matters.
He said they want to prevent incidents that occur in places such as Samalay chiefdom, Bumbuna, and Kono where community people were oppressed for their land which resulted in violence.
Jabba noted that paramount chiefs are important in land issues and are therefore called upon them to see how they could resolve such matters in their jurisdictions.
He added that similar projects is being implemented in Pujehun and Tonkolili district with the aim of enhancing food security, land rights and avoiding land conflict.
He pointed out that there is no chiefdom in the country where there is no land dispute, either between communities, families or districts. He said if the issue of land is not handled seriously, the society will continue to have problems and instability.
In her welcome statement, The District Director Land for Life project Ima Amara said the multi-stakeholder platform is considered as the hub to help mitigate some of the land cases that will ensure sustainable peace among the communities.
She referred to land matters as a complex and which is difficult to handle, adding that there is a lot of problems with families and companies relating to land. She disclosed that the project came about to ensure that people that have rights over their land and to get access peacefully.
She said the involvement of the paramount chiefs is timely because they are mostly accused of either taking sides or not even aware of the issues in their chiefdoms, adding that any decision- making on land will not be complete without the participation of paramount chiefs.
She assured the paramount chiefs and land owners that the platform does not support any party in land conflict but to mediate between them.
In response, the chairman councils of paramount chiefs Kenema district who is also the paramount chief of Dodo chiefdom, Foday Steven Kpakira Fabba referred to the district multi-stakeholders platform as one trustworthy unit that will help to settle a lot of land matters in the district among the people and that would reduce some of the burden on paramount chiefs in dealing with land cases.
He commended NMJD through the Land for Life project for bringing such developmental and focus- minded body, adding saying, ’’this is a rescue unit that has come to our aids as paramount chiefs on land disputes’’.
PC Fabba added that the issue of land within communities, chiefdoms and among families is a cause for concern and has some security implications if not handled carefully.
He encouraged all paramount chiefs and their subjects to work with the Land for Life multi-stakeholders platform as a responsible and credible organization and that they as paramount chiefs can depend on them to solve some of the land disputes and assured the platform that as chairman council of paramount chiefs, he will ensure that they take active role in mediating in some of the land conflicts.
He added that cases in which their colleague paramount chiefs have been named or blamed , will be looked into at their council meetings.
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