Dr. Ousmane Kanté, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation of Good Governance Policies at the Ministry of Justice, announced the launch of a vast awareness program on good land governance practices, during the CRD dedicated to raising awareness among territorial actors on good land governance practices held this Wednesday in Thiès.

According to him, Senegal is one of four African countries selected to conduct an institutional review of this strategic issue. He added that following the national assessment, several recommendations were formulated, including raising awareness among stakeholders involved in land management.

He announced that three regions had been targeted for this first phase: Kédougou, Matam, and Thiès. According to Dr. Kanté, the choice of these regions was not arbitrary, given the presence of mining companies in Kédougou; frequent conflicts between farmers and herders in Matam; and land disputes, particularly the Mbour 4 case, in Thiès.

According to Dr. Ousmane Kanté, the main objective is to raise awareness among stakeholders in order to reduce community conflicts related to land, but also to conduct in-depth discussions on the mechanisms for resolving these conflicts. "These best practices involve understanding the texts and laws. If each stakeholder understands their role in this process, there will be fewer conflicts. We will move towards identifying the types of conflicts. Then, we will explain to each stakeholder the appropriate mechanism for resolving these conflicts," he explained.

He emphasized that he has a prerogative that belongs to mayors, since the primary actor involved in land matters is the local authority. This means that mayors are on the front line, followed by other categories of stakeholders.

The deputy governor in charge of administrative affairs, Ababacar Sadikh Niang, stated that a worrying proliferation of land disputes had been observed in Thiès. He believes that repression alone cannot be the solution to these conflicts. "The first and essential step is to raise awareness among all actors and stakeholders involved in land governance. The objective is to foster a better understanding of the texts, laws, and regulations that govern land in Senegal. It is imperative to reiterate that in this area, customary law does not prevail; only legal texts are authoritative," the administrative official said.