Report: Regional Consultative Meetings on Land - Land Commission

of the way. Women can get land through inheritance
and buying.
1.4.1 Strangers (Participants’ definition/perception
of strangers) :
Lofa men’s focus group defined strangers as, persons
of similar ethnic groups from countries bordering
Liberia, who migrate to Liberia. Strangers
were described as:
• Guinea Loma;
• Guinea Kpelle;
• Guinea Mandingoes;
• Guinea Kissi;
• Sierra Leonean Kissi and Mende.
The definition of strangers from other counties
was not fully reflected.
1.5 How can you be sure that the land is for
you?
Responses:
• By owning properties on the land;
• By surveying the land; Through tax payment;
• By constantly farming;
• By building town/village;
• By planting cash crops;
• By planting a life tree/forest tree as a boundary,
• Use rivers/creeks and hills,
• By obtaining a tribal certificate and/or land
deed to be presented to central authorities.
This needs to be revised to make it mandatory
for Central Government to provide deeds;
• Having Deeds that should be prepared within
twelve months, which is not the case;
• By the legalization of an inherited land;
• By adverse possession (living on unoccupied
and disowned land for more than 21 years)
without claim of ownership by another;
• Boundary demarcation-making sure that the
land is for you. You can be sure that a portion
of land is yours if you go through the process
of acquiring it from the rightful owner(s);
• Drawing up the necessary documents, registering
and probating same. Few own the land
thereby denying the majority;
• Investors are taking a lot of the land with little
28 Governance Commisssion - Liberia
or no benefits going to affected communities;
• Local authorities are fronting for others in
land sale transactions. Therefore one needs to
find proper authority;
• Surveyors and land owners are involved in
fraudulent acts;
• The lack of awareness on the process and procedure
to acquire land.
1.6 What is Public land? Private land? Communal
land? Or How do you understand Public
land? Private land? Communal? Swamp land?-
Monrovia consultation)
Participants’ Definitions:
Public Land:
• Public land is any land owned by the state or
government;
• Public land is land that is not owned by a particular
individual - belongs to everybody or
Government;
• Public land is land not assigned to or sold to
anyone, a specific group, quarter or an individual;
• Public land is land owned by government and
cannot be transferred to anyone; Land owned
by government;
• Land that is not owned by anyone;
• Land given by government to an individual;
• Public land – land that is not deeded;
• Public land is land owned by the Government
through enactment and purchasing.
Communal Land:
• Communal land belongs to a community and
is reserved by the local authority for community
use or for specific purposes, including development;
• Communal land given to a community or
group by the Government;
• Communal land belongs to a community and
is set aside for the community development;
• Communal land is owned by the community
and cannot be sold;
• Communal land – land given by government
with a grant deed for any purpose;
• Land set aside by a community for agricultural
and other purposes or for future use;