Following The Sale Of More Than 500 Acres Of Land, Goghen Citizens Order A Halt To Land Sale

Klay District, Bomi County – Following the sale of more than 500 acres of land to various individuals in Liberia, citizens of Goghen Town, Klay District in Bomi County, have advised their elders to refrain from the sale of land.  In a Citizens General Meeting held in Goghen Town, on August 24, 2020, and presided over by Chief John Bayndah, the following was resolved:

That Land negotiation be limited to only for farming; that Minerals discovered in any land sold does not include the negotiation for land use for agriculture purposes; That all land sold that appears to have the same effect as a concession into by the Government of Liberia will have to be treated with the advice of relevant public policies; that the road that is being used to and fro Goghen, is a community project and not a road constructed by the Government of Liberia, and as such, compensation will be established for its usage and maintenance and a complete halt to all land sales, both in process and the initiation of any new transaction

According to Chief Bayndah, the town was confronted with the issue of surveying its land so as to take advantage of concession enterprises and create jobs, but the town did not have the needed money to pay for surveying.  It was in this light that the town contacted a son of the clan to find a potential buyer, provided that the buyer will use the land only for agriculture purposes.

As a result of their negotiations, 500 acres of land was sold that led to the realization of $70,000.00 USD.  Unfortunately, the surveying cost was $67,000.00 USD, leaving only $3,000 USD to the town.  Aside from this huge cost, not all of the land was surveyed and the deeding, which was the objective for the land lands, was also not achieved.  A suggestion to sell additional land to conclude the surveying and deeding was therefore rejected by all citizens, calling for a review of the process and a halt to the entire sale of land.