By Momodou Darboe
Some businessmen and senior staff of the ministry of lands as well as department of surveys have been asked to explain the fate of over 400 plots of land belonging to the Jatta Kunda clan in Busumbala.
A fortnight ago the ministry demarcated the boundaries of a territory, which has long remained a subject of contention between Jatta Kunda in Busumbala and Jobe Kunda in Serekunda.
The land, located in Jabang, has been leased out to the Jobe Kunda family by Jatta Kunda in 2007 but over the past years, Jatta Kunda has been complaining of encroachment on their properties outside the leased land.
Following sustained pressure from the clan for the delineation of boundaries amidst allegation that Jobe Kunda family were selling off their lands in collusion with senior lands ministry and surveys staff, the ministry sometime in October identified an independent surveyor to demarcate the boundaries.
The independent surveyor has completed his assignment two weeks ago but Jatta Kunda is still crying foul.
The clan is clamouring for the return of 410 plots of land allegedly sold out by the Jobe Kunda clan in collusion with lands officials which the Jobes denied.
And according to the permanent secretary, the ministry will convene a press conference to deal with the issue. “The independent surveyor has finished his work and we are now doing some technical work. So as of now, I don’t want to preempt anything,” PS Buba Sanyang told The Standard.
Meanwhile in an earlier interview with this reporter, PS Sanyang expressed his ministry’s resolve to investigate allegation of involvement of lands ministry and survey staff in shady land deals.
