The Land Governance Support Activity (LGSA) supports the establishment of more effective land governance systems, ready to implement comprehensive reforms to improve equitable access to land and security of tenure, so as to facilitate inclusive sustained growth and development, ensure peace and security, and provide sustainable management of the environment. Tetra Tech and partners Landesa, Namati, Collaborative Decision Resources Associates (CDR), Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), and Parley form a collaborative team providing technical and organizational assistance to the Government of Liberia (GOL), civil society, and communities in their land rights reform process.
Throughout the Year 1 work plan, LGSA makes the assumption that the Land Rights Bill and Liberia Land Authority Bill would be passed in a timely fashion. At present (July 2016) the Land Authority Bill has passed the Senate, but has not passed the House, while the Land Rights Bill has not moved through either branch of the Legislature. An Interim Land Task Force has been appointed by the President to institutionally bridge the gap between the Land Commission and the Liberia Land Authority. LGSA has updated the risk analysis and mitigation table in Section 1 to reflect the current situation.
Delays in the legislative agenda have not had a significant impact on LGSA’s ability to continue project activities. FY16 Q3 activities have focused on: the completion of institutional audits of the former Land Commission and Land Coordination Centers (LCCs), the Department of Land, Surveys and Cartography of the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy, and the County Land Commissioners of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; the refinement of the draft transition plan for the Liberia Land Authority completed in the previous quarter; the implementation of the applied research agenda, with work focusing on the process of negotiating boundaries and boundary harmonization, an impact assessment of the establishment of community governance structures under previous People, Rules, and Organizations Supporting the Protection of Ecosystem Resources (PROSPER), SDI, and Land Commission activities, women’s land rights, the determination of community membership, and the economics of livelihoods in areas impacted upon by concessions; the development of monitoring and evaluation tools for data collection, analysis, and reporting; the development of a communication strategy; and work with the Women’s Land Task Force and the Professions Surveyors Association (APLSUL).
Administratively, all senior, administrative, and technical project staff have been hired. Weekly general staff meetings are held to keep all project staff abreast of project activities. Weekly technical staff meetings are also held to ensure coordination of field activities both technically as well as logistically. Financial management, procurement, and administrative procedures are in place and continue to be followed.