(Ecofin Agency) - Speaking during a show broadcasted on Seneweb, Senegalese former international civil servant said no country, Senegal included, can develop while unable to make the management of its land a priority. Multinationals would thus not be a viable option for the exploitation of agricultural lands.

According to Fall, illicit land grabs in Senegal hurt not only local populations but the whole economy as well. Pointing at a Lebanese investor operating in the Waalo region, in the north western part of the country, she said: “he is taking lands from the people of the region while they were not even allocated him. And the most raging is that he doesn’t even use them for farming but sells them. In the mean time, our youth, women, and farmers who seek for lands, have access to none”

Similarly, Sénégindia’s Indians found no favor in her eyes. “Indians want to move an entire village in the river valley to establish a sweet potato field,” she denounced. Her anger just grew as she said she believes Diokoul’s municipal authorities to be accomplices to the move.

“Nowadays, many investors and multinationals want to get lands in Senegal, even if it means sacking their rightful residents,” she said. This is an issue which should be at the center of parliamentary discussions on land reform that is currently being implemented in Senegal.

Souha Touré