By Christopher Yarwoe, tam.yarwoe106@gmail.com>
BUCHANAN, Liberia- Public sensitization on the Land Rights Act appears to be gaining traction, as people in the Bleewein Section outside Buchanan are calling on the Liberia Land Authority to carry out Community Self Identification of their customary land.
Bleewein Section comprises Bacconie and eight other towns located behind the concession area of Arcelor Mittal Liberia.
According to the 2018 Liberia Land Rights Act, the community dwellers can own their ancestors’ land with deed or without deed.
Speaking to the local community radio here, Magic FM on Tuesday Emmanuel Smith, Christian Yankoon and Marthaline Gibson said that after the process of Community Self Identification, any company that wants to do investment must first meet them directly.
They told Magic FM that they do not want to be third party in dealing with the autonomous agencies.
Also speaking, the Lead Advocate of the citizens Mr. Samuel Wilson said that they want to go through the process as required by law and would not want the interference of surveyors in the land matter.
Recently, the citizens of the area presented their position statement to the office of the County Superintendent, Hon. Janjay Baikpeh, calling on the Liberia Land Authority and autonomous agencies of government to halt the process of grabbing the indigenous people land for investing purposes.
According to the Liaison of the Buchanan Port Mr. Bill Davis, the NPA has 15-Thousand acres of land, the LPRC 2-Thousand acres of land and NOCAL 3-Hundred acres of land, which these agencies want to use for the port expansion and investment purposes.
Those lands were owned by the Liberia Mining Company (LAMCO) before the civil war but former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf decided to transfer all the remaining land to the government but the citizens are saying that, it is an unexplained land; therefore, they should go through the rightful process that would not affect their customary land.