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Liberia Begins Three Days of Land Conference amid Backlog of Disputes

   Land  Commissioner Cecil Othello Brandy hopes the conference will come
   up  with  basic  guidelines  to  help the government develop its urban
   policy

   James Butty | Washington, D.C. 06 October 2010
   Liberia's  President  Ellen  Johnson Sirleaf in the Oval Office of the
   White House in Washington (File Photo - 27 May 2010)

Photo: AP

   Liberia's  President  Ellen  Johnson Sirleaf in the Oval Office of the
   White House in Washington (File Photo - 27 May 2010)

   Liberiaâs Land Commission begins a three-day National Urban Conference
   Wednesday in Monrovia to discuss the ever increasing urban land issues
   in the country.

   Cecil  Othello  Brandy,  chairman of the Liberia Land Commission, said
   the commission hopes the conference will come up with basic guidelines
   that would help the government develop its urban land policy.

   âAs  a  result of the war, many internally displaced persons relocated
   into  new  areas  and  a  lot of them moved into urban areas. This has
   placed enormous pressure on urban facilities, and so increasingly land
   has  become  a  major issue in Monrovia. We are hoping, as a result of
   (the  conference)  to  device  some  basic guidelines that can help us
   develop an urban land policy,â he said.

   Two  years  ago,  a  survey  by  the  then  Truth  and  Reconciliation
   Commission  concluded  that  there was a strong possibility of Liberia
   returning  to violence unless the government took steps to address the
   land issue.

   Brandy  concurred with the commissionâs findings, but said land reform
   has  always  been a top priority for the government of President Ellen
   Johnson Sirleaf.

   âFrom  the  very  beginning of her administration, the first thing the
   president  mentioned  was  the  need  for  land reform. I think in her
   inaugural  address  she mentioned that land reform would be on the top
   of her agenda, and she proceeded to do this,â Brandy said.

   Map of Liberia

   He said it took two years of consultation with all stakeholders around
   the  country  before finally forming a land commission which President
   Sirleaf signed into law last year.

   âAs  you  rightly  said,  land  poses  a  major  problem,  a potential
   flashpoint , and unless the major issues of land are addressed, we run
   the  risk of major disputes starting. I wouldnât say a full-blown war,
   but  minor  skirmishes  might  arise.  And  this conference is another
   attempt  to begin to look at the issues concerning our urban centers,â
   Brandy said.

   The  many  land  problems afflicting Liberia are happening against the
   backdrop  of  what  some observers called a weak and sometimes corrupt
   judicial system.

   âWe  feel  the need for instituting measures that can enforce the rule
   of  law  with  regards  to land dealings. That is critical, and unless
   that  is  done,  you are right we wonât be able to solve the problem,â
   Brandy said.

   He  said  the  land  commission  has  already  established  a  dispute
   resolution task force.

   âWe  are  in  the process now of involving all of the stakeholders who
   have,  in  the  absence  of  a  land  commission been involved in land
   disputes.  As  you  know  a lot of the actors involved in land dispute
   resolution  are  local authorities, traditional leaders. And so we are
   developing some procedures so that we can begin addressing quickly the
   huge backlog of disputes,â Brandy said.

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