An ongoing land survey in parts of Bor town of South Sudan’s Jonglei State has been stopped by state lawmakers over concerns of massive land grabbing by individuals, a state legislator said.
Jwach Makuei Jwach, the chairperson of the specialized committee on land and physical infrastructure at the assembly told Radio Tamazuj last week that the parliamentarians suspended the survey which he says is contrary to the government master plan.
“Bor town was surveyed in 2007. There were some reserved areas then. But now some government officials do not want to abide by the master plan. So as the lawmakers we realized that it was wrong and we stopped it,” he said.
The lawmaker added, “We also realized that some senior government officials revoke ownership of lands from local residents for themselves. We passed a law on December 31 that no land ownership can be revoked unless there is compensation for the victims.”
Jwach warned relevant land authorities against defying the lawmakers' resolutions.
For his part, Bor Town Mayor James Gai accused of having ordered the survey denied any involvement in it, saying he was only opening roads in the town as per the master plan.