The town planning officer in Kenema city Alphonsus Pratt has blamed the land owing families in Nongoma chiefdom especially Kenema city in engaging in dubious land deals.
He also blamed the attitude of some community people in the city to the rate at which flooding is affecting some areas in the city in the past years. Mr. Pratt made this disclosure while talking to the press at his Dogo barracks office along Maxwell Khobe Street in Kenema.
He particularly blamed the people for double selling a piece of land to their clients without the approval of appropriate authorities like the Ministry of Land, Housing country planning and the environment that have the expertise to survey land and determine whether it is fit for development purposes.
This factor he says couple with the negative attitude of those living closer to the lambayei creeks that are in the habits of depositing their rubbish into the stream that run through the city of Kenema consequently blocking the run ways as those responsible for the over flowing of the water into the nearby houses along the stream across the city. Mr. Pratt says these problems have been occurring long before he took over office as area town planning officer in Kenema town now city.
He discloses that his office is now working on strategies that will help address some of the inadequacies that are affecting the operations of his Ministry within the shortest possible time.
Pratt cited some of the difficulties he encountered like the lack of mitigating officer who is knowledgeable with building regulations and bye laws, the lack of entrusting power to demolish illegal structure are some of the difficulties they are presently experiencing as a planning ministry operating in the country.
The Area town planning officer disclose that his immediate priority is to ensure that all land owing families within the city and the chiefdom have a master plan that will be able to demarcate clearly their boundaries without infringing on propose street layout and without recreational facilities like schools, markets, church, mosques among others for those sites.
Pratt adds that the lack of mobility, understanding and unavailability of recent technology which is the General Purpose Survey (GPS) machines are some of the problems they are presently envisaging in the ministry.
He also blamed the attitude of some community people in the city to the rate at which flooding is affecting some areas in the city in the past years. Mr. Pratt made this disclosure while talking to the press at his Dogo barracks office along Maxwell Khobe Street in Kenema.
He particularly blamed the people for double selling a piece of land to their clients without the approval of appropriate authorities like the Ministry of Land, Housing country planning and the environment that have the expertise to survey land and determine whether it is fit for development purposes.
This factor he says couple with the negative attitude of those living closer to the lambayei creeks that are in the habits of depositing their rubbish into the stream that run through the city of Kenema consequently blocking the run ways as those responsible for the over flowing of the water into the nearby houses along the stream across the city. Mr. Pratt says these problems have been occurring long before he took over office as area town planning officer in Kenema town now city.
He discloses that his office is now working on strategies that will help address some of the inadequacies that are affecting the operations of his Ministry within the shortest possible time.
Pratt cited some of the difficulties he encountered like the lack of mitigating officer who is knowledgeable with building regulations and bye laws, the lack of entrusting power to demolish illegal structure are some of the difficulties they are presently experiencing as a planning ministry operating in the country.
The Area town planning officer disclose that his immediate priority is to ensure that all land owing families within the city and the chiefdom have a master plan that will be able to demarcate clearly their boundaries without infringing on propose street layout and without recreational facilities like schools, markets, church, mosques among others for those sites.
Pratt adds that the lack of mobility, understanding and unavailability of recent technology which is the General Purpose Survey (GPS) machines are some of the problems they are presently envisaging in the ministry.