“It is a good exercise that honors our country. Number of things has come to light and those responsible will answer,” said Burkina’s Minister for land management and internal security, Simon Compaoré while commenting the report released on October 13 by the National Assembly on parliamentary investigation on the management of urban land.

Ouagadougou’s former mayor appreciates the initiative because it is opportune and extraordinary. “With the emergence of the land issue in Burkina’s urban centres comes an equally important issue which is that of land statute and its reorganization. Around urban centres, unlike in the past, land has become scarce and this gives rise to battles for lands and tensions. Ongoing decentralization in Burkina has initiated a new development dynamic of territorial communities with, among other skills, land management. However, it is necessary to mention the absence or insufficiency of training for the concerned communities in regard to the land topic in general and especially in regards to the management of urban land. This situation affects Burkina’s cities and its social environment also,’ investigators said in the report.

After investigating 15 communes and questioning more than 300 actors of the land sector, investigators found multiple irregularities involving a persistent violation of the land rule, speculation and insufficient monitoring of activities of real-estate developers. The report published highlights also an unorthodox management by some municipal authorities.

“Investigations conducted by the Parliamentary investigation committee brought to light achievements in regards to regulatory and legislative measures concerning property development and allotment. It however exposed many irregularities and violations of associated regulation. The commission indeed discovered that more than 105,408 plots have been illegally occupied and given out. It also mentioned the interference of politics in land management”

“For example, regarding property development, developers tied to the political sphere benefited from a lot of advantages which would not have been possible in a well-governed environment that respect ethics. The same goes for allotment activities over the period covered by the investigation,” said the report which comes to end land mismanagement.

This should inspire other African nations which like Burkina Faso are also dealing the issue of poor management of land which is getting scarce as a result of shady transactions and growing speculation.

Souha Touré