Land dispute in Betainomby Toamasina: nearly the whole population rushing to the Commune’s office

Some 63 houses located in Betainomby, Ambodisaina-Ambohimananrina’s Fokontany, in Toamasina’s rural suburban region have been affected on July 30th 2010, as their inhabitants have previously been warned, that they had to evacuate for not being the occupied lands’ legal owners, although they’ve been living there since 1996 in accordance with an authorization delivered by Toamasina’s suburban communal office, according to what they said to reporters. The order N°107-CR/TVE/SUB/07 signed by the mayor on June 04th 2007, equally confirmed their authorization to occupy the concerned area.

Then, somehow, someone stemming from nowhere suddenly appeared and claimed the area as its own one. The subsequent battle happened to be everything but fair, since the opposition proved to be quite dexterous with laws, so much that the area’s inhabitants suffered repeated defeats in court. Those ones compelled to lead search for new households came up to calling upon a demonstration held on Monday, August 02nd 2010. The Eastern Province’s general secretary finally declared that expulsion procedures were temporarily suspended. To be continued.

The concerned 33ha wide area used to belong to the French government under the name “SAHARA” TF N° 890-BA, was acquired by SAGIMEX corp. on November 23rd, 1973, and partly granted by this society to the current inhabitants, according to their own reports.