In Senegal, the Prime Minister requested, on Sunday June 30, 2024, “an emergency development plan” for the coastline near Anse Bernard beach, to make this part of the Dakar Maritime Public Domain (DPM) more attractive.
Ousmane Sonko, who was visiting Anse Bernard beach, located on the coast of the commune of Dakar Plateau, noted that “we are not going to let people take over this place (Anse Bernard beach) in the public maritime domain. To this end, we are going to develop this site as part of an emergency program, to make it more welcoming to the public.”
“I ask the Minister of Urban Planning, Local Authorities and Regional Development, Balla Moussa Fofana, present here, to propose to me an emergency development plan for this site of the public maritime domain (DPM)”, he said, indicating that the ad hoc commission responsible for monitoring and verifying titles and occupations on the old and new dependencies of the Public Maritime Domain (DPM) in the Dakar region, recently discovered that this part of the coastline had been divided up and allocated to a few individuals.
The former councilor of Ziguinchor who added that we cannot afford to fragment the DPM, a space to which all Senegalese must be able to access, without hindrance and freely, underlined: “we have as part of the work of this commission discovered that this site was divided up and sold in November 2023. Some of the beneficiaries had 5000 square meters of plots, 3000 or 2500 square meters for others, while this part falls under the public maritime domain.
He recalled that the government is in a fight to restore to the Senegalese, their natural assets. “We therefore call on the populations, the youth in particular, to carry this fight and to show patience,” he said.
Ousmane Sonko indicated that the results of the work of the said commission will be presented to the Senegalese in the coming days. “Beyond the maritime public domain, we will resolve the numerous land disputes, in both rural and urban areas,” he promised.
He also called on the Senegalese not to take justice into their own hands, but to contact the competent services. “We are listening to everyone to resolve their problems,” he assured.
The Prime Minister has created an ad hoc commission responsible for monitoring and verifying titles and occupations on the dependencies of the public maritime domain (DPM) in the Dakar region.
By the order establishing the said commission, Ousmane Sonko ordered at the same time “the suspension of all constructions and other works on the former dependencies of the maritime public domain [de] the Dakar region, for a period of two months from this day”, Monday May 13.
The Prime Minister is asking the Director General for the Surveillance and Control of Land Use to carry out this suspension “as a precautionary measure”.
The new commission is “responsible for verifying the legality and conformity of the titles issued and [des] occupations carried out in the targeted areas”.
It is placed “under the presidency of the minister, secretary general of the government”, and “is coordinated by the Minister of Finance and Budget”.
For his part, the Minister of Urban Planning, Local Authorities and Regional Development provides the secretariat of the commission.
The National Assembly, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, the High Council of Local Authorities, as well as the Ministry of Finance and Budget have representatives within this body.
The Ministries of Urban Planning, Local Authorities and Regional Planning, Environment and Justice are also represented.
The Governor of Dakar is a member, as are representatives of the local authorities concerned, and the Director General of the National Agency for Maritime Affairs.
The Order of Lawyers, the Chamber of Notaries, the Order of Architects, as well as the National Order of Expert Surveyors of Senegal are represented.
“The work of the commission will have to be sanctioned by a report, which will be submitted [au] President of the Republic,” according to the Prime Minister’s decree.
Accompanied by several members of the government, Ousmane Sonko had previously gone to the Colobane market in the commune of Fass-Colobane-Gueule Tapée, to convey to the local authorities and traders of this market a message from the Head of State on the decongestion operations underway in several communes.
Moctar STAYED / VivAfrik
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