President for Hiri Local Level Government in Central Province, Haoda Rogea and HIRI council members have joined the Governor for Central Province;
in protest against the National capital District Commission expanding NCD’s borders onto traditional Hiri land that are within city peripherals; one of which is the Hiri Vanapa Sogeri land boundary.
President Rogea expressed his frustration during a press conference this week, while reacting to a news article published earlier in the newspapers, addressing the issue.
President Rogea said the Hiri Vanapa Sogeri physical plan is believed to be gazetted in 2004, but HIRI council members didn’t know about it before.
He said, “Me and my concillors are now challenging the existence and the execution of how the physical planning was done without the approval and consent of the traditional and native landowners of Vanapa and Sogeri.”
Rogea claims that the rest of the land that was captured under the physical plan also is customary land and not state land.
“Every single villages in HIRI are captured under the physical plan and the physical plan is done under the KWADO development,” he said.
He claimed that the design of the physical planning has reduced the native landowners ownership rights and increased the user right of the buyer.
A peaceful protest is being planned in the coming days.
“We will do it according to law. We will do a physical protest, meaning that everybody get to be consulted when we do the protest.”
President Rogea believes that the standoff between the Governors of Central and NCD, has resulted in them not getting any revenue from NCDC.