Almadies 2 : Le terrain de foot menacé, les habitants montent au créneau
This Sunday, September 14, residents of the Almadies 2 housing project in Rufisque expressed their anger to the press. The cause: the alleged seizure of their football field by businessman Diop Sy, accused of wanting to divide up the site for real estate purposes.
A living space
This place, according to residents, is the only public space in the neighborhood that serves as a physical education ground for schools, a place of collective prayer and a setting for sports and cultural activities.
"Almadie 2 is home to nearly 15,000 families. This land is our only breathing space. We fiercely oppose its disappearance. It would be a social, environmental, and ecological disaster because our neighborhood is already suffocated by urbanization. We can't turn the entire neighborhood into concrete," slams Mamadou Sène, one of the collective's leaders.
According to him, the developer mortgaged the land to a bank that allegedly won the tender, thus paving the way for the subdivision to begin. A decision that the local population strongly rejects.
"We woke up one morning and saw teams starting to install a subdivision system, without any consultation," he complains.
Land acquisition by developer: residents suspect suspicious procedures
Residents of the Almadie 2 housing project accuse developer Diop Sy of engaging in dubious procedures to appropriate public land. They suspect that the allocation of this property to the developer was carried out outside of the norms.
"Several public areas were planned in the city's initial development plan. Yet these spaces are identified as public areas, and this land is one of them. But most of these areas have been plundered. Now this land we want to take is our last bastion of collective space. We call on the authorities to shed light on the legality of this transaction. How did this land end up in the hands of this developer?" asks Mr. Séne.
Tensions noted
On Friday, September 11, while the city's officials were at work, the developer arrived with the police to conduct a boundary survey. Youths who attempted to oppose the survey were reportedly brutally dispersed. The residents perceived the act as a provocation.
"They came with the gendarmerie to do the boundary marking while everyone was away at work. The young people who tried to oppose it were mistreated. But if they come back on a weekend, they'll find us all here. If they're brave, let them come on days when there's no work. We're ready to die to save our land. If they want to take it by force, they'll have to shed blood," warned Mouhamed Ndiaye, youth leader of the Almadie 2 housing project.
Call to the authorities
Faced with this escalation, the Residents' Collective of Cité Almadies 2 is raising its voice. It is calling on the relevant authorities to intervene urgently before the situation escalates.
"We are directly appealing to the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. They are well aware of this matter. We demand a swift and firm response. We do not want any compromise with the successful bidder. Give us our space. The State must call an end to this dispute, which is beginning to take a dangerous turn," warned the delegate for the Almadie 2 district, Ms. Mbaye.
For now, the standoff is intensifying, and the population promises not to back down. The authorities' intervention is strongly desired to restore calm to the situation.
Commentaires (12)
l'état doit le freiner avant qu'il ne soit trop tard
Seul leur portefeuille compte. Et ça se dit Sénégalais !
Comment peut-on retirer des espaces de vie à ses propres compatriotes, son propre sang ?
Ce sont ces mêmes individus sans foi que vous verrez dans les mosquées, les églises à jouer au pseudo croyants. Vous n'avez pas peur de Dieu. Vous le paierez.
C'est vraiment méchant, ignoble.
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