The South Sudan Land Alliance (SSULA) on Tuesday demanded answers from lawmakers over the fate of the National Land Policy, which has remained before parliament for nearly two decades without approval.
Representatives of the alliance and land governance experts met the chairperson of the Specialized Committee on Land and Physical Infrastructure at the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) to seek clarification on the status of the long-delayed policy, which they say is critical for addressing land disputes and allegations of land grabbing across the country.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Dorothy Ambrose Drabuga, Chairperson of SSULA, said the Alliance decided to engage parliament because citizens have repeatedly raised concerns about the absence of a national framework governing land ownership and administration.
“Today we are here at the parliament meeting with the Standing Committee for Land and Physical Infrastructure because we would like to know about the status of the national land policy that has overstayed at the parliament for the last 20 years,” she said. “The reason why we are doing this is that we are getting a lot of questions from the citizens of this country because of issues surrounding land grabbing.”
Drabuga said the alliance also handed over an open letter to the committee chairperson and another copy to the speaker of parliament, highlighting growing public pressure to enact the policy.
“So far, 50 international and national organizations across Africa and also in the Western world have signed this letter just urging members of parliament to prioritize the passage of the national land policy because it has overstayed,” she explained. “There are a lot of issues surrounding land and stressing the importance of the National Land Policy because this is the country’s legal framework that defines how land is owned, governed, used, and accessed. So, without this, problems will continue. Once the land policy is passed, I believe that issues of land grabbing will reduce.”
“One of the reasons they have given is that questions are coming from the citizens because of the phrase that says ‘land belongs to the people’ and yet most of the communities want this document, this phrase, to read that ‘land belongs to the community’,” Drabuga added.
However, she argued that the wording aligns with the Transitional Constitution and should not be unchanged.
“In every country, whether Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, it says land belongs to the people, and this phrase is in line with what the Transitional Constitution 2011, as amended, says; that land belongs to the people of South Sudan,” she said.
Drabuga revealed that the committee plans to conduct further consultations in the states if funding becomes available. She vowed that the alliance would continue advocating for the policy’s passage and raising public awareness about its importance.
Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Duku Waniwani, an assistant professor in the Department of Land Management at the University of Juba, described the policy as essential to effective land administration and governance.
“The question of land is a very important one, and then the question of land policy is exceedingly important because the whole land management system hinges on land policy,” he said. “Without a land policy, the land administration can be a mess. So, there must be a land policy for a nation, for any country, so that it guides the use of land.”
“I want to encourage the government to give as much money as possible to repurpose the land administration system so that it is given a bit more money so that the workers in land administration are even better supported,” Dr. Duku added.
The national land policy has been under discussion for years and is widely seen by land experts, civil society groups, and communities as a key instrument for resolving disputes, regulating land ownership, and improving land governance across South Sudan.
and then