Aiming to sanitize land management and optimize allotment, Congo’s Minister of land issues and public domain, Martin Parfait Aimé Coussoud Mavoungou announced on September 29, in Brazzaville, a series of measures to concretely improve transparency and coordination of cadastral policies, Agence d’information d’Afrique central reports.

Blaming professionals, he denounced “insufficiencies and irregularities including overlapping properties, attitudes that hurt their employer and the people they serve, and all these cost the state”.

“It has been proved that you are involved in a ¾ of allotments in non-authorized areas. Each of you has his land owner; each land owner has his surveyor,” he told those concerned.

The official’s anger is justified by the sensitivity of the urban land management issue. To counter speculation the minister encourages a strong work ethic, the establishment of a surveyor association, and the renewing of the sector.

Souha Touré