On Wednesday April 13, 2016, Liberia's Senate gave its unanimous endorsement to the draft Bill to set up the Land Authority of Liberia (LAA). The Bill had been before the Senate since 2014 and all hope was almost lost. The Senate's decision comes after major stakeholder discussions and review of the Bill by key Government actors. The draft Bill now goes to the (lower) House of Representatives for its concurrence to finalize Ratification by the Liberian Legislature.
The enactment of this law will be a major landmark. Its review and eventual passage will pave the way for establishing a progressive land reform in Liberia, which recognizes the centrality of land for a majority of Liberians who depend on it for food production and livelihoods.
The process of enacting the Land Authority Act came with its share of challenges. Many within civil society organizations felt that the process was not as consultative as it should have been. Key stakeholders in the civil society land sector, especially the Civil Society Working Group on Land Rights in Liberia, were not consulted much as was done with the drafting of the Land Rights Policy and Land Rights Act.
Since the Land Authority Act (LAA) will govern the administrative processes pertaining to land use and ownership throughout the Republic of Liberia, civil society organizations wanted more say in the formulation process.
Though concerns still persist about the new law, civil society consider the Senate's enactment of the new law an unequivocal success and hope the House will quickly follow suit and pass this legislation.
When set up, the Land Authority of Liberia will assume sole responsibility for all land matters in Liberia. It will absorb all components relating to land from previous ministries, notably the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy, which held most of the functions dealing with land.
The land component of all the Ministries will be absorbed by the Land Authority of Liberia. This will hopefully improve coordination and provide a one stop shop for all land related matters. It will also bring an end or at least help address issues of conflicting jurisdictions.
Though the passage of the Land Act is a significant milestone worth applauding, civil society needs to remain attentive and vigilant. The proposed structure for the Land Authority of Liberia is heavy and bureaucratic, raising some concerns.
There are too many layers of authorities: the National Consultative Forum, board of Commissioner and Public Land Authority all have duplicate and unclear functions.
There needs to be a system put in place for checks and balances within the organization, which is not the case at the moment especially with the power vested in the Chair of the Board of Commissioners. No one position should possess ultimate power to make major decision concerning land administration without proper consultation, especially given Liberia's tumultuous history with land conflict.
In addition, the method of appointment of the Board of Commissioners is . The Act states that, "... from and immediately after the passage of this act, there shall be established a BOARD OF LAND COMMISSIONERS (the "Board") for the Authority, which shall be the governing body of the Authority". There is no explicit provision as to how this board is to be created?
The CSOs working group on land rights stance on the creation of the board is that this board should be constructed strictly upon merit. There should be an independent vetting body which compromises of key stakeholders including CSOs. The credibility of the new Authority, and therefore its efficiency, depends on this.
The enactment of the Land Authority of Liberia Bill is not the end of the process, but rather a beginning. The Senate must now keep its word and enact the Land Rights Act.
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This Act has also been with the Senate since 2014. The preamble to the Act notes that the original ownership of land and the subsequent transfer have been a subject of contestation and conflicts in Liberia from the establishment of the Liberian state to this day, with negative impacts on social cohesion, peace and development.
Current Liberian laws are inadequate to address the variety of issues arising from land acquisition, lease, use, transfer, administration and management. It is important that this Act is passed soonest. It is important that key provisions of the LRA especially those that ensure customary land rights are not tampered with before it is enacted. We hope the Senate heeds our call before its August 2016 annual break.
James M. Yarsiah, Rights and Rice Foundation and Member, CSO Working Group on Land Rights Monrovia.
