COMMUNIQUE ON LAND GOVERNANCE FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY BENEFIT
Adopted at the National Conference on Land Governance for Agricultural Development and Community Benefit held at the Senior Police Officer’s Mess, Kingtom, Freetown on 11th – 13th July 2016
We the participants,
having discussed issues pertaining to land governance for food security, agricultural development and community benefit and considering the critical nature of land tenure in Sierra Leone and the connections between land ownership, livelihood especially for the poor and marginalized and failure to protect and promote human rights;
acknowledging the respective roles
of the multiple stakeholders (state, private sector, Development partners,
civil society, media, traditional leaders); and being desirous of supporting
nation building, protecting and promoting tenure rights, peaceful co-existence,
national development and for government to be accountable; demanding that
relevant laws, policies and strategies
promoting economic growth, peace, prosperity, food security and poverty alleviation; ensuring that
the implementation of the Voluntary
Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and
Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT), the implementation of
the National Land Policy and ensuring that issues on land natural resources and
the environment are fully provided for in any future new Constitution.
Do identify the under-mentioned issues:
1.
That the vast majority of the people depend on land
for livelihood, mainly through smallholder agriculture and mining.
2.
That
land ownership in Sierra Leone is fraught with a lot of difficulties and
confusions; existing challenges ranging from inequitable land
access and large-scale land acquisition to lack of geo-spatial and cadastral
information system, conflicting interest of land use for public and private
purposes, and corruption.
3.
That
evidences of injustice in the land sector arising violations
of women’s tenure rights, marginalisation of other vulnerable groups,
criminalisation of land rights defenders, informal and unplanned settlement of
land disputes, non-transparent processes and agreements that do not reflect the
value of land for land-owning families and land users, environmental
degradation and deforestation could
be a recipe for violent conflicts if left unaddressed.
4.
That the act of determining land lease prices by
government for community and family land, and the 50% tax levied on lease fees
is considered unfair and irrational.
5.
Evidence
of power imbalances and weak capacities to claim rights as most communities do
not benefit from investments in land while at the same time losing the basis of
their livelihood.
6. The Cabinet approval of the current
National Land Policy (2015) is commendable but concerted action and engagement
by the civil society, administration and local authorities is required for the
realisation of justice and equity in land tenure.
7.
The
effective implementation of the new land policy shall require new institutions
and mechanisms for effective and meaningful participation of man and women in
Sierra Leone.
To
this end, we demand the following:
1. That there is a need for harmonization of efforts among relevant
Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) and other stakeholders in developing
and implementing land related policies with clearly defined roles and
responsibilities.
2. Strengthening the implementation of
the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of land,
Fisheries and Forest [VGGT] in the context of national food security.
3. That non-citizens ownership of land
in Sierra Leone be limited to leases not exceeding 25 years and renewal every
10 years, subject to approval of community members land owning families.
4. That a National Land Commission and
decentralized land committees be established that ensure representation of
civil society, land owners, land users, women and youth.
5. That certain outdated land laws be
repealed by Parliament in order to engender fairness and equity in the
ownership and use of land in the country.
6. That
Land management and use should be within the context of promoting poverty
alleviation, food security, livelihood and engendering national economic
development.
7. That
special emphasis be placed by the government and other relevant stakeholders on
addressing issues affecting women and other vulnerable groups in land
acquisition, ownership and access.
8. The
role of civil society is acknowledged as facilitating agent for meaningful and
peaceful participation of communities affected by large scale land investments.
9. That
Government demonstrates strong political will in the implementation of the
National Land Policy and effective natural resource governance.
10. The state shall facilitate and not
hamper or criminalise civil society efforts to monitor the implementation of
the VGGT, but strive to maintain cordial community-investor-state relations
through dialogue and non-violent engagements.
11. That
awareness raising, sensitisation and monitoring of land documents/instruments
be supported by the state and development partners for effective and efficient
land governance.
12. That
Government commits to invest more funds to support the speedy implementation of
the National Land Policy as well as to facilitate the enactment of a new land
law for Sierra Leone.
In conclusion
We
the participants of this National Land Conference commit ourselves to increase
collaboration and coordination in order to give a voice and power to our
people-for the benefit of Sierra Leone.
We encourage everyone with this line
of our National Anthem:
LAND THAT WE
LOVE,
OUR SIERRA LEONE
OUR SIERRA LEONE
