Monrovia – Matthias M. Yeanay, the Executive Director for the Institute for Research and Democratic Development (IREDD) is calling on the government to place a high emphasis on the land dispute in Nimba County that has caused chaos in that part of the country in recent days.
Recent land crisis in Nimba County specifically concerning the land dispute in Ganta left properties damaged and disrupted the peace and movement of the inhabitants.
Despite calm being restored in the county, the issues leading to a genuine reconciliation is far from conclusion.
On May 6, 2021, President George Weah held an interactive forum with inhabitants of Nimba County and set up a committee for the purpose of finding the root cause and the lasting solution to the longtime land crisis.
But speaking to journalists at the head office of IREDD on 16th Street, in Sinkor, Mr. Yeanay said more needs to be done to mitigate such a situation within a record time.
He named the establishment of poorly regulated and dis-organizational land survey practices, the lack of proper documentation for cross-referencing in land sale transactions, and the absence of the registered assigned surveyors as some of the key factors responsible for the long-standing land disputes in Nimba County.
“The Ministry of Lands and Mines and the Liberia Lands Authority must design corrective measures to mitigate this the situation in Nimba and all other parts of Liberia,” IREDD Executive Director said.
Yeanay added: “Additionally, IREDD calls on the Government of Liberia to ensure and resolve rising land and other potential conflict-related issues without delay, as justice delay is equivalent to justice denied.”
Yeanay also called on residents of Nimba County and other parts of the country to abide by the rule of law in addressing issues of national concern.
“IREDD is inclined to say that respect for the rule of law unhindered legal process will help to ease tensions and avoid violent tendencies among Liberians,” he said.
According to Yeanay, with support from the African Transitional Justice Legacy Fund his institution last month worked with a broad range of inter-groups including members from all ethnic groups, local and traditional authorities, religious leaders and youth and women’s groups to further understand the conflict dynamics and to develop a long term mitigation strategy to build an atmosphere for coexistence, inclusivity, and trust among adversarial groups in the county.
“Our intervention specifically seeks to mitigate or ease the rising land, tribal and religious tensions in Ganta City which culminated in the dedication of a peace monument,” he said.
While in Nimba County, IREDD was able to hold a peace conference. During the conference, participants, however, registered troubling testimonies involving some media houses in Nimba in relations to their reportage and the inflammatory messages they ran on their platforms, IREDD Executive Director stated.
“The Institute was shocked by these vivid accounts and calls on the government and the Press Union to investigate and ensure media organizations found culpable are sanctioned. Let the word go forth that every trigger ranging from unemployment, economic hardship, failing social services, poor governance system, harsh tax regime, corruption, and the lack of accountability – all of which serves as drivers for public discontent are rip and could run into an outburst if the peace is not cautiously managed,” he said.
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