The question of equitable land allocation and land use is a difficult dilemma. Mapping will help discern specific boundaries and land uses. A national land data and policy, and the harmonization of the draft national land policy should help with land issues. Sierra Leone is 71,740 km2. The mapping process will help address key issues in customary land rights, climate change, deforestation through uncontrolled logging and a well planned community, among many will be captured. The mapping process will be done by the communities to demarcate their land, traditional forests, reserves and farmland. Communities will also develop by-laws on land use and control to avoid future land conflicts and protect future multi-national investments. The country has two land tenure laws that are not in agreement with each other. The ‘Freehold’ system of acquisition of land in the Western Area and the ‘Leasehold’ tenure system in the provinces.
[membership]
The ‘Freehold’ tenure system gives absolute right to those purchasing land as the owners of those land and can develop it at their own time. The ‘Leasehold’ agreements refer to purchasers of land as “Land developers” and in a situation where in they fail to develop the land for certain period, it will be taken from them and resold to another person to be developed. The Director of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Environment, Jobo Samba, said in 2017, the Government approached FAO for technical support. FAO granted the request and consulted Namati to engage communities. Samba said the Government, with the FAO, Namati and ILO, are talking to communities about the development of a national land policy. He said the process started in Bombali District, where the team handed over maps of land parcels indicating who owns what along with community by-laws to protect the land. Daniel Sesay, from Namati, said the maps and by-laws are products of a community land protection project that focused on a legal empowerment approach to land governance. He said the mapping is part of the implementation of the New National Land Policy that makes provision for the mapping and documentation of all land including customary land. The ongoing pilot project is an experiment on how community land should be properly mapped, documented and governed. Adama Conteh is the third child of the Conteh family that owns a large parcel of land in Mashema. She said they were delighted over the process. “We are happy to receive our maps and thank the women of Mashema village. Before this time, our male folks were discriminating against us on the use and utilization of land because only men were allowed to make decisions on land issues. She added with the mapping exercise, women are sure of equitable distribution and rights to their family land. The head of Land and National Resilience for Sierra Leone and Liberia, the Land Tenure Desk Office for FAO, Samuel Mabikke, said the chiefdom authorities provided the required leadership for the pilot project. The FAO representative said the national land policy is in line with the Voluntary Guideline on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) of Land, Fisheries and Forests. He stated the mapping needs to start with a software tool with community participation to avoid conflict and crisis because according to him lots of agricultural investment needs to be protected through a national land mapping activities that is participatory. Mariatu M. Conteh, an activist in Makeni, had mixed feelings on the ongoing national land mapping exercise. She stressed before any issue on tenure rights are addressed, the equitable allocation of land amongst landowning family members including women is necessary. She said in the past women have become the subject of ridicule and deprivation from inheritance. The Paramount Chief for Paki Massabong Chiefdom, Paki Kabombor II, confessed that he was initially skeptical about the pilot program considering the level of illiteracy of his people. But the Namati partners made the program a success. The Chief said landowning families receiving their maps should take good care of them and ensure that women’s rights are respected and accorded.
MK/6/8/19
By Mohamed Kabba
Twitter: @chikakabba
Wednesday August 07, 2019.
[/membership]
[membership level=”0″]
Login or Subscribe to read the entire article
[/membership]