Rédaction Africa Links 24 with AB. Africa Links 24
Published on 2024-03-01 18:18:20
Real Estate in Burkina Faso: The ordeal of citizens prevented from building on their plots (Angle article)
In several peripheral areas of the Burkinabe capital, citizens who have acquired plots “normally” are struggling to build on them. Not because they lack financial means, but rather because other citizens are preventing them. In fact, there is a sort of consensus against new constructions in these generally “newly developed” areas.
All four corners of the capital are affected. From the former sectors 28, 29, and 30 of the Bogodogo district to Yagma, passing through the rural communes of Saaba, Pabré, Tanghin-Dassouri, and Komsilga, these conflicts or conflict-generating cases exist.
Some cases have been covered in the press. It emerges that some residents of the affected areas, unhappy about not getting plots themselves, decide to prevent the rightful owners from building until their own demands are met.
One illustrative case is that of the residents of Zekounga, a neighborhood in Bassinko, who in 2018 requested the cancellation of the land division in their area. They argued that the land division was done by a former mayor on behalf of the rural commune of Tanghin-Dassouri, even though the neighborhood belongs to district No. 8 of Ouagadougou.
During a press conference, the residents, supported by the Movement of Solidarity for the Right to Housing, denounced the “violation” of their housing rights. Following the meeting with journalists, it was revealed that some of the complaining residents had themselves received plots on the site, which they sold before turning into victims and becoming the tormentors of the new owners.
There are also cases of double allocation of plots in some of these areas. For the rightful owners of these problematic plots, the situation is difficult and unbearable. Many of them are civil servants or other workers who acquired the plots at great sacrifices including bank loans, hoping to avoid the hassles of renting in Ouagadougou.
Now, their dream has turned into a nightmare. They continue to rent while their respective banks are cutting off their housing loans. What a nightmare, one might say, especially considering the conditions of the majority of Burkinabe workers. Faced with this situation, some have had to resort to the legal system which ruled in their favor. However, the problem persists.
Others have resorted to threats (often with firearms, please note) in order to build on their plots. For example, in a rural commune north of Ouagadougou, a man in uniform was able to build because he made it clear to his potential future neighbors about his position.
Indeed, he had learned that several of the new plot owners in the area were being threatened, and that others had seen their construction sites halted or even destroyed by young residents. In some of these areas, the tension is palpable.
The problem is that there is a kind of guilty silence on the subject. A solution needs to be found to end the ordeal of the new plot owners in this situation. Moreover, this would help to defuse the situation. With land divisions on hold, resolving the land disputes will certainly address this issue as well.
Burkina Information Agency
An article by Alban KINI
alban-kini@yahoo. fr
NB: Photo for illustration purposes only.
Read the original article(French) on Agence d’Information du Burkina
