The Minister of Lands, Housing and Country Planning, Dr. Turad Senesie, Minister of Defence Brig. (Rtd) Kellie Conteh & Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Lieutenant-General Sullay Ibrahim Sesay toured Benguema Community on Tuesday March 2, 2021, to ascertain the extent of land encroachments into land reserved for the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces Training Centre at Benguema. The Minister was shown a vast portion of the said land that has been encroached upon with no proper planning and documentations.
Dr. Senesie had asked the Director of Lands and Surveys to take necessary actions to regularize, preserve and protect the over 1,700 acres of land belonging to the military.
The Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff expressed appreciation to the Minister of Lands for visiting the site and taking steps to halt the negative encroachment trend.
Benguema is home to the Armed Forces Training Centre (AFTC), the largest Sierra Leone military recruits training centre. The town is also home to Sierra Leone’s largest military Barracks,that houses soldiers and family members of personnel.
The problem of encroachment is posing a threat to the military base.
Military had, on several occasions, admonished those living within the firing range at Benguema to quit and find somewhere else to live.
A lot of people have encroached on the land located around the firing site so it is very dangerous for them to stay whenever firing exercise is ongoing, because there is possibility for stray bullets to hurt people.
Source: (Communication Unit, Ministry of Lands. Additional reporting by Sallieu S. Kanu)
04/03/2021. ISSUE NO: 8014