Temperature - European Investment Bank

WEST AFRICAN POWER POOL (WAPP) PÖYRY ENERGY LTD.
Mount Coffee HPP ESIA and RAP 2012-09-18
ESIA Report Page 89
site. The basic commodities they produce include: cassava, sugar cane, vegetables and
other cash crops like pepper, okra, etc..
The population practising mainly agriculture also grow perennial crops, i.e. tree crops
like rubber and palm oil, plantains, cocoa, among others. Rubber trees are the most
common and occupy quite a sizeable part of the land in the present reservoir area. A bit
of livestock is also kept, though this is not in large numbers.
Though most people practise subsistence farming, petty trade is also common among
the population and goods are sold are at the settlement level. In general, the main
economy is agricultural-based, with farming, fishing and informal business as the major
occupations of the inhabitants.
13.3.2 Ethnic Groups
There are six Liberian ethnic groups that make up the population in the project area
which include: Kpelle, Kissi, Lorma, Gola, Bassa and Gio. All of these tribes constitute
a total population of about 4’000 people.
The religions practised by the population are Christianity, Islam and indigenous beliefs.
The ethnic groups use mostly their vernacular to communicate but most can
communicate in Kpelle and Bassa. English is the general language spoken between
different ethnic groups that don’t understand each other’s dialect, but this spoken
English is a mixture with the vernacular language.
13.3.3 Local Administration
The local administration for a township has a four tier structure as follows:
� Commissioner
� General Town Chief, to whom all village chiefs report. Under this tier there can
be Wards in the townships, e.g. Harrisburg has 3 wards. Each ward is controlled
by a tribal chief, who deals with the individual tribes, farms and houses. These
tribal chiefs would report to the town chief.
� Town Clerk
� Town Chief: This one exists only in townships.
A Commissioner assisted by a Deputy serves as head of the local government in the
area. There is also a Town Chief who is an integral part of the local government
configuration who directly communicates to the locals. There is a General Town Chief
at the fourth level.
Not all townships have a set-up like Harrisburg, which has 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd Wards. If
there are no wards the village chiefs report to the Town chief. The local administration
posts receive a salary, unlike the leadership structure in the settlements.
13.3.3.1 Leadership Structure in the Settlements
At the local level there is the Clan, which can be headed by a Paramount Chief and at
lower level there is the Town Chief and then a Village Chief. The Village Chief has a
council of Elders, made up of two men and a woman. Below the Council of elders are
three groups also known as “koo”, headed by a man, woman and a youth (as there are