Bulldozer demolishing illegal settlement at Lokiri village on orders of Commissioner Charles Joseph Wani. 2022. (Photo: Press Office of the Commissioner).

The Council of Ministers on Friday revised and passed the National Land Policy with a clause specifying that land is owned by the people and not the communities in South Sudan, as outlined in the transitional constitution.

The cabinet meeting chaired by President Kiir discussed the document in a bid to address conflicting views about land ownership and governance in the country.

The draft Land Policy was developed to establish a sustainable framework for allocating and protecting collective and individual land rights for all the people of South Sudan.

The policy articulates processes for access and ownership, control, administration, use and sustainable management of land to meet core national governance and development objectives.

Michael Chiengjiek, the Minister of Land, Housing and Urban Development read out the provisions of the document before it was passed and sent to parliament for further deliberation.

Information Minister Michael Makuei said the cabinet decided to revise the document in order to let people understand the laws governing the land.

“Issues of land in South Sudan are one of the major problems that have been living with it ever since, even though the provisions of the constitution are very clear, and the land act is clear,” Makuei said.

“The minister, in collaboration and consultation with other institutions of concern, decided to present this policy in order to give us principles, the structures and process for ownership of land, the administration and usage of land.”

Minister Makuei said the cabinet is seeking to address controversies over the ownership of land despite it being clearly spelled in the national constitution.

“The constitution of South Sudan says land is owned by the people of South Sudan – the people of South Sudan, not the communities of South Sudan. And the government shall regulate its usage. This is very clear,” he stated.

“Go to your constitution, consult it. This is very clear and as such, there is no way people can decide to misinterpret the provisions of the constitution and so forth.”

“So based on that, the presentation was made and after a thorough deliberation, it was passed by the cabinet and the minister directed to present the same to the national legislative assembly.”

Article 32 of the Transitional Constitution stipulates that all land in Southern Sudan is owned by the people of Southern Sudan and its usage shall be regulated by the Government.

It further said every person shall have the right to acquire or own property as regulated by law.

However, the question of “who owns the land in South Sudan” provokes different views from different people in the country.