Illegal trade puts more than 13,000 jobs at risk

According to Mor Lo, the coordinator of the collective, it was revealed that the land belonged to Frenchman François Graziani, who died in 1982 without legal heirs. “After developing the site (development of the land, earthworks, backfilling), we discovered that the land belonged to François Graziani, who did not leave any heirs, ”he declared at a press conference on Wednesday, August 14, 2024.

Mr Lo pointed out that Graziani is the holder of land titles 128/R, 678/R, 725/R, 729/R, 767/R and 599/R. “These titles must be regularised by the state, in particular by transferring protection to the Heritage Service,” he added.

From the time the site was developed in 2002 until 2011, garage managers worked without problems, employing around 1,500 young people, in addition to jobs created by related activities such as commerce, catering and other services. Today, more than 13,000 jobs are at risk due to possible eviction.

“Since 2011, we have been under threat of eviction due to the involvement of a mafia of developers and officials in land speculation. Many lands were transferred under dubious conditions. Currently, the rights to the 27 hectares are claimed by the likes of BOA, the Autonomous Port of Dakar, a Senegalese family and a Malaysian national,” warned Mr Lo.

The coordinator stressed that land titles in Pikine and Dakar Gore were transferred and re-registered under unclear circumstances. “We are facing the threat of eviction today due to the greed of the land lobby and the obvious complicity of the government,” he declared.

He called on the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister to intervene, stressing that all attempts to find a fair solution with the state executive had failed. “The cadastral documents are forged and we demand a thorough verification of the titles, which are probably fake,” he said.

The garage manager and his staff plan to launch a campaign among decision-makers and opinion leaders, while hoping the government will intervene to protect their work tools. “We are open to any fair solution, including the acquisition of the site,” Mr Luo concluded.

Birame Kari Ndo