A bulldozer digs through the rubble of a collapsed building in Hai Thoura Residential Area. | Photo: Eye Radio

The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development says it is finalizing key legal frameworks and policies to guide land management in South Sudan.

According to Undersecretary Eng. Louis Kwot, the National Land Policy 2023 was approved by the Council of Ministers last year and is now waiting for the third and fourth readings in parliament.

He said the delay is due to the late reopening of the National Legislature.

“The Ministry is working on the legal frameworks and policies for land, housing and urban development. The land policy is already completed, particularly on the executive level that has been completed and has been passed by the Council of Ministers since last year and it is now in the Parliament awaiting the last two readings, the third and the fourth,” he said.

He said the ministry has taken over the Land Registry from the judiciary and plans to introduce a digitalized system to prevent fraud and manipulation in land transactions.

“The custody of Land Registry, you are aware of Land Registry now in the judiciary of South Sudan, has been brought to the Minister of Land, Housing and Urban Development by a resolution from the Council of Ministers.

The Ministry is in the process of implementing a state-of-the-art digitalised land registry that’s going to be free of manipulation, free of fraud and free of malpractices,” he said.

The Land Registry, he said, will become the central hub for land records across the country, including Juba and the states.

Louis also explained that the upcoming land policy will clearly define the responsibilities of national and state governments, local authorities, and communities in land management.

He pointed out that Juba’s rapid expansion, land grabbing, and informal settlements remain major challenges—driven by insecurity, climate change, and population movement.

In November 2024, the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Michael Chiengjiek, officially presented the Draft National Land Policy 2023 to the National Legislative Assembly.

The document, which was earlier endorsed by the Council of Ministers, aims to create a sustainable and inclusive framework for land allocation and the protection of land rights for all South Sudanese.