The new authorities have decided to carry out “an exhaustive survey of the land situation in the most sensitive geographical areas”. On the instructions of the Minister of Finance and, of course, the Diomaye-Sonko duo, trained tax and property inspectors who are also familiar with the country’s land situation, the Director General of Taxes and Estates has decided to temporarily suspend the examination of land and property files in certain so-called sensitive areas. The measure affects the regions of Thiès, Saint-Louis and, of course, Dakar.

Though President Faye made the decision on Friday, it was Pierre Goudiaby Atepa who made the revelation on Sunday. But he failed to mention that the presidential measure goes far beyond the Dakar coastline. It concerns the regions of Dakar, Thiès and Saint-Louis. And the Minister of Finance and Budget, having been informed of the measure, has passed it on to the Director General of Taxes and Estates, who has instructed his departments to “temporarily suspend the examination of land and property files in certain areas”. In the memo concerning this decision, Abdoulaye Diagne informs that he has been “asked by the Minister of Finance and Budget to address the issue of land management, which in recent years has been marked by an upsurge in land disputes”. He points out that the “highest authorities of the State consider it necessary to establish an exhaustive land situation in the most sensitive geographical areas, where social peace is threatened by current or future conflicts”.

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Among the zones and land operations affected in Dakar are “the Boa housing estates, the Pilgrims Hangar, Eogen 1 and 2, Terme Sud, the Recasement housing estate, Cité batterie, Egebos, Diamalaye, and the coastal area of the Dakar department (Corniche-Ouest and Corniche-Est)”. The provisional suspension of the examination of land and property files also concerns “the Guédiawaye detailed urban development plan, the Malika detailed urban development plan, and the urban centres of Diacksao, Bambilor, Deny Birame Ndao and Daga Kholpa”. This decision will also be applied to the part of the “Lac Rose” zone located outside the Dgpu land title, to the development plan for the new town of Thiès, to the allotment known as Mbour 4 in Thiès, to the Pointe Sarène site in Mbour, outside the Sapco zone, to the Ndiébène Gandiol zone on the land base of land title 136/SL in Saint-Louis”. On closer inspection, most of these sites are also home to the 100,000 social housing units program initiated by the previous regime. What will become of this? Wait and see!

For the acts and procedures concerned, “any allocation of plots in the zones concerned” has been suspended at the level of the Directorate of Estates, “any instruction of request for lease, definitive transfer, authorization to transfer, authorization to assign in mortgage” at the level of the Estates offices, “any instruction of request for parcelling out, implantation of plots and establishment of a plan with Nicad” at the level of the Cadastre offices. In addition, this provisional suspension applies to “all applications for registration or division of land at the offices of the conservation of property and land rights, and all applications for registration of leases or deeds of sale in these areas at the collection offices”.

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However, in carrying out this provisional suspension, the authority “insisted on the need to preserve the legitimate rights of individuals”. In this context, “department heads are asked, whenever necessary, to carry out a case-by-case analysis, based on objective elements, of files which could benefit from a derogation”. To this end, informs the Director General of Taxes and Estates, “and in agreement with the authority, an ad hoc committee will be set up to define the procedures for submitting, processing and validating these derogatory cases”. He adds: “Incidentally, the administrative deeds, which are already awaiting approval by the General Directorate of Taxes and Estates, will automatically be submitted to the ad hoc committee. He added that “in other localities and areas not concerned, the examination of property files will continue”.
By Dieynaba KANE / dkane@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH