The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) on Friday launched a five-year strategic plan (2025-2029) designed to overhaul Liberia's land governance architecture and align the institution's priorities with the government's ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID). The launch marks a significant step toward modernizing land administration, improving transparency, and confronting the country's long-standing land-tenure challenges.
Speaking during the ceremony, LLA Chairman Samuel F. Kpakio described the new plan as a product of careful reflection, institutional learning, and national development alignment.
"It's the second revised plan, and we're building on what we have already achieved," Chairman Kpakio said. "By aligning with the AAID, we are ensuring that our efforts are in line with the government's goals."
He added that the roadmap focuses on strengthening legal frameworks, improving land-use systems, enhancing service delivery, and expanding institutional capacity--four pillars he believes will reshape the land sector for years to come.
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According to Chairman Kpakio, the 2025-2029 strategy seeks to strengthen land governance and the legal framework, including drafting new surveying and mapping laws, reviewing surveying standards, and updating title and deed registration laws, and advance land-use planning, including the development of regulations for public and government land acquisition.
It also seeks to deliver reliable, modernized land services, with the introduction of electronic revenue transfers and standardized fees for land-related services, and build staff capacity and improve organizational development, including a review of the LLA organogram and the pursuit of land and funding for a dedicated LLA headquarters.
"The document will strengthen the delivery of land services, records management, and undertake organizational development of the Liberia Land Authority," Kpakio emphasized, noting that a trained, well-equipped workforce is central to achieving long-term stability in the land sector.
The plan also envisions closer collaboration with the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) to create a land valuation program for taxation and the establishment of a digital land information repository, a reform that many experts believe could significantly reduce fraud, duplication, and land disputes.
Chairman Kpakio called on the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) and the Legislature to increase the LLA's budget, saying sustained financial support is critical to successfully executing the plan.
He further acknowledged the Swedish government's continuous backing through the Sustainable Land Services Project, describing development partners as "key drivers in Liberia's ongoing land reform journey."
Speaking at the event, Christopher Byren, Project Manager of the Sustainable Land Services Project, lauded the strategic plan for its emphasis on capacity building and administrative transformation.
Byren said the project--supported by the World Bank--has already enabled the LLA to decentralize land services in five counties, including the installation of internet infrastructure to support efficient operations.
"We will continue to support the LLA," Byren assured. "The digital land information system we are helping to establish will not only improve administration but also serve as a revenue source to make the LLA a sustainable financial institution."
The LLA's new strategic plan comes against the backdrop of more than a century of tension, overlapping claims, and policy gaps in Liberia's land sector.
Historically, Liberia has operated under two land tenure systems, statutory land ownership, introduced by the settler government in the 1800s, and the customary land tenure, practiced by indigenous communities for generations.
The disconnect between these systems fueled decades of disputes around land ownership, boundary conflicts, and inconsistent land transactions.
Civil war exacerbated the crisis. During conflict (1989-2003), mass displacement, undocumented claims, and illegal occupation worsened the problem. Many properties changed hands without legal oversight, creating a web of contradictory claims that still burden courts and communities today.
However, since the end of the war, the government has taken several critical steps toward addressing land problems. Some of these steps include the creation of the Land Commission in 2009--a major attempt to diagnose systemic issues; The establishment of the Liberia Land Authority in 2016--replacing the Land Commission and giving the country a permanent institutional home for land administration; The passage of the Land Rights Act in 2018--a landmark law recognizing customary land ownership for the first time in Liberia's history, and recent efforts include digitizing records, decentralizing services, and increasing public awareness of land rights.
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Despite progress, challenges persist--limited digitization, overlapping deeds, inadequate regulation, and low institutional capacity remain significant obstacles.
With the launch of the 2025-2029 strategic plan, the LLA is signaling a renewed commitment to consolidating gains made over the past decade and addressing unresolved systemic flaws.
Chairman Kpakio expressed optimism that with adequate resources, political will, and continued international support, the reforms outlined in the plan will position Liberia for a more transparent, predictable, and equitable land governance system.
"This plan provides the direction needed to strengthen land administration in Liberia," he said. "It will modernize our processes, empower our staff, and ensure that every Liberian can access reliable land services."
As Liberia continues its long journey of reconstruction and development, the success of land reform remains central to peace, security, and economic progress. The LLA's new strategic plan may well become one of the most important tools for shaping that future.
