The revival of the land reform process in its entirety is a necessity for which the Pan African Institute for Citizenship, Consumers and Development (CICODEV) invites the State of Senegal to take measures “for concerted and consensual solutions between the families of actors on land management”.
This was done in a communiqué to regret the violent events that took place last week in Diass, between the police and demonstrators, over a land dispute between the people and a private developer. Twenty-three people were arrested during the scuffles with the gendarmerie, before being returned to the high court of Mbour.
If similar situations are becoming commonplace in many localities in Senegal, the municipality of Diass is experiencing exponential land aggression, often driven by state projects and programs, according to the civil society organization. This is illustrated by the Diass airport sitting on a land base of 4,500 hectares; the Special Industrial Economic Zone (No. 2) with an area of 10,000 hectares, the port of Ndayane occupying 400 hectares belonging to the municipality of Diass, the jumbo jet plant 100 hectares, the urban pole of Dagga-Kholpa 3,000 hectares with a concerted development zone of 300 hectares and the Saudi Bin Laden Group’s base of operations benefiting from 100 hectares for investment purposes.
These crumbling of the communal surface deprives this municipality of any possibility of extension to satisfy the demand for housing of the citizens, without counting the potential agricultural activities in the process of disappearing. Without denying the relevance of these projects, CICODEV reminds the government that access to land is a fundamental right. Even more so in a country where land allows more than 70% of the population to satisfy their needs in housing, food, mobility, access to health through medicinal plants.
As a reminder, the Constitution of Senegal of January 22, 2001, as amended, enshrines the principle of the sovereignty of the people over its natural resources.
To restore the populations’ constitutional right, CICODEV also calls for “the operationalization of the Head of State’s proclaimed will to prohibit the granting of land titles on arable land in rural communities”; the adoption of specific legal mechanisms protecting rights defenders/activists of land rights to enable them to contribute to the transparent and responsible governance of land in all tranquillity” and the institutionalization of citizen control at all levels of land governance in Senegal, to guarantee the effective participation of the population”.
The organization reminds the State of Senegal of its obligation to guarantee the populations their right to claim a home in their communities. While urging all parties to dialogue, it invites the judicial authorities to “go beyond the provisional freedom granted to the protesting populations of Diass, to take all measures to ensure the full enjoyment of communities of their land rights in peace and social tranquility.
Source :L’Enquête du mardi 21 septembre 2021