Ouagadougou: Local stakeholders were sensitized on the prevention and management of land conflicts during a session held in Koubri. Departments of the National Observatory for the Prevention and Management of Community Conflicts (ONAPREGECC), heads of decentralized state services, customary and religious authorities, as well as community leaders, participated in the event.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the awareness session was initiated by the ONAPREGECC Permanent Secretariat and was chaired by the President of the Koubri Special Delegation (PDS), Comrade Samad© L©onard Gougou, with assistance from the Second Vice-President of the Special Delegation, Comrade Achille Roland Guigma. Communications were provided by Comrade Gougou and the representative of the ONAPREGECC Permanent Secretariat, Comrade Noaga Ouss©ni Doli.
In his opening address, Comrade Gougou acknowledged the commitment of the participants, highlighting their willingness to engage in discussions on the critical subject of land dispute prevention and management. The representative from the Permanent Secretariat emphasized that the session aimed to strengthen the capacities of local actors in handling community conflicts.
The first communication presented by the PDS focused on the establishment and operation of ONAPREGECC, which was created by decree in 2015 following a recommendation from Burkina Faso’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations in 2013. The PDS detailed the structure’s organization, which includes a National Council and various regional, provincial, departmental, and village or sectoral observatories. Challenges such as insufficient funding were noted, with a call to participants to support the Observatory’s mission.
Comrade Noaga Ouss©ni Doli led the second module, concentrating on the different types of community conflicts, especially land disputes. Through video projections, he illustrated the main causes of land conflicts and mechanisms for their prevention and management. The session facilitated discussions that clarified ONAPREGECC’s functionality and its synergy with other conflict management mechanisms, and addressed issues related to land document applications, such as the Rural Land Ownership Certificate (APFR) and the Urban Housing Permit (PUH).
The meeting also included an announcement by the PDS about the development of a 33-hectare site in Zibzohogo, sector 2 of Koubri, designated for the CIM-SAHEL cement plant. Additionally, participants were informed about the commencement of planting work on the communal field and the arrival of new high school graduates on July 27th for their patriotic immersion program.