Hon Ibrahim Tawa Conteh sees the Ministry of Lands and Country Planning and that of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS) as an impediment and hindrance to President Bio’s successes.

The honourable made the submissions on Monday 1st July, 2024 at the New Administrative Building in Parliament.

Hon Conteh said further that the land issue in Western Urban Area is an affair between life and death and survival of the fittest, for which only the strongest can survive.

Hon Tawa Conteh said the ministry is using the right of way and so it’s encroached into the forest protected areas.

He said the ministry knows the protected areas and the land grabber who wanted a land and went to the same ministry and the ministry allegedly connived with the land garbber to encroach into the prohibited land.

When it comes to demolition, he said, lands ministry would always blame certain individuals not themselves.

The Deputy Speaker said when it comes also to documentation at the ministry, nobody has solid documentation of a land purchased.

He disclosed that the issue of land disputes is too much and as people’s representatives, he said, that is a concern for them.

He said land disputes are issues that have migrated to the region as people are now fighting over purchase of lands in Bo.

He said people “every now and then are at the ministry of lands” than at the Ministry of Agriculture, the reason being, he said, they are going there to complain to the ministry for land that has allocated to them land being taken away by somebody of authority or big title.

He made reference to Sierra Block that last week they were in the House of Parliament because part of their land had been taken by some squatters.

On the ministry using the right of way, he said , they are overlapping their responsibilities.

He said the ministry needs deep reforms.

Hon. Conteh said five people had been fought over a land at Kabbasa Lodge at Youth Farm. He confirmed that all those claiming the piece of land have authentic documents from land ministry.

Though the documents had been sent to the ministry for clarification, Hon. Conteh said, the ministry is yet to confirm who the owner of the land is.

Land dispute, he noted is setting families apart.

He also talked of the land dispute at Black Johnson community in Western Rural, noting that it is about 390 acres.

He said documents had been submitted to the ministry, but the ministry’s officials are yet to confirm the owners of the acres of lands.

He said it is very discouraging that people are using the similar documents to demolish others’ buildings or structures that had been excreted for the about the past 10 years.

He said those are the issues officials at land ministry  should consider in addressing and but  the ministry, he said,  has not be helping to resolve the situation for the people and the government.

The Deputy Speaker assured that President Bio has good ideas as to how his investments can be rollout and that he believes that sovereign lands are to be protected by the government for investments.

Hon. Conteh assured also that he will never go to the Ministry of Lands and Country Planning for any land issue. He said he had been there before on an issue to be settled but without result.

He affirmed that there are lots of issues at the ministry as everybody now is fighting to acquire private land in the country.

“For me, the most difficult part is the ministry of Lands and Country Planning cannot give them (MPs) details as to what they have acquired as a sovereign landmark.”