The Alliance for Land Rights South Sudan (ALRSS) on Friday handed over free land title documents and demarcated plots to 129 vulnerable residents in the Bahra-Aguan area of Wau town in Western Bahr el Ghazal State.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj after the handover ceremony, the organization’s Executive Director, Alfred Angok, said the initiative was carried out with support from the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and in coordination with the state Ministry of Housing and Public Utilities.
Angok said the organization has been supporting vulnerable groups, including elderly people, internally displaced persons and returnees, in Western Bahr el Ghazal and other parts of South Sudan for the past five years.
“For the activities we are carrying out this year, we have been producing land documents for vulnerable people for almost five years,” Angok said. “We target the elderly, internally displaced persons and returnees in Wau town and other states.”
He said the organization also assists beneficiaries in identifying their plots on sketch maps to make it easier for them to develop their land.
“This year, we managed to provide 129 plots to beneficiaries with support from Norwegian People’s Aid,” he added. “We thank the Norwegian government for supporting ALRSS to help our people in the state.”
Several beneficiaries expressed gratitude for the support, saying the process of obtaining land documents independently was expensive and difficult.
Piniyi Opio Guak, a beneficiary in the Bahra-Aguan area, said he had struggled to secure land documents because of his disability.
“The Alliance for Land Rights South Sudan has done something very good for us because getting our plots demarcated is not easy,” Guak said. “When you go to the land ministry, they charge SSP 200,000 for each plot, but the organization brought staff from the ministry to help us.”
Guak said he was unable to afford the fees on his own and was grateful for the assistance.
Another beneficiary, Lucia Batista, said the organization helped her obtain land documents and identify the size of her plot.
“I have no job, but the organization managed to help me,” Batista said. “I was staying without land documents and did not know the size of my plot.”
Grace Nicola, another beneficiary, urged women to secure land documents to avoid land grabbing.
“I am calling on my fellow women to work hard to obtain their land documents to avoid losing their land,” Nicola said. “Today I am very happy because I have obtained my land title.”
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