Monrovia – The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) has benefited from Community Land Intervention Monitoring and Management Tools (CLIMT) launched through its partners, CADASTA, Lantmateriet and the Swedish Mapping.
The tool was built to improve LLA’s ability to manage and monitor Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) activity, support donor coordination and transparency and also to enable CSOs to record land intervention using smartphone applications or web-based tools.
This will also permit CSOs to use a data model designed by LLA to ensure consistency of information which includes spatial data component, ensuring that physical location of the communities is identified.
In addition, it will allow the LLA, CSOs and the communities to analyze and query the data, with the general public able to view a subset of the data bringing transparency to an otherwise opaque process.
Speaking at the launch in Monrovia recently, the head of ILAMP, Christopher Bryen disclosed that the web-based solution is on website platform comprised of a mobile component which will allow CSOs to report from the field on a form that has been designed in collaboration with them.
Mr. Bryen said that it will give the LLA better understanding of what phase they are, in terms of the costumers’ resurvey.
Said Bryen: “Land is the base layer when it comes to this kind of analysis. Because land cuts across everything. It cuts across mining, mining licenses, agriculture, and clinics. This is really a tool that is going to facilitate corporations and better synchronization between LLA and Civil Society Organizations.”
Making a brief remark, the Chairman of the LLA, Atty. J Adams Manobah lauded the partners for the worthy opportunity in launching the platform.
Atty. Manobah noted that there is a need for LLA to know the key players in the land sector who are helping the government and the Liberian people through the LLA, and to also know the total cost of the of assistance to the land sector in the country.
He said: “We appreciate the assistance given us but to be frank. We don’t know at what cost. So we hope that a day will come that we all will agree to have a basket fund from wherever the sources are coming to make sure that at least the government will know.”
Speaking further, he stressed that the main concern for the Land Authority is financial sustainability; stating that the sector is attracting assistance but want to assure donors they will make the best use of whatever given for its implementation purpose.
“we promised this platform I am sure is going to be kept for sometimes but even when the support is withdrawn from the Land Authority, for this platform will make sure that it can continue, Atty. Manobah said.
He stressed the need for the government to take the initiative in making sure that that the LLA leads the process, and not only waiting for the partners. He aslo called on the government to step in to ensure that the Land Authority is not noted as spending entity of government, but a revenue generating institution.
“We have the capacity, we have the ideas, we have the means but the land sector, we know, administration is not cheap and it is not an event. It is now over time but first we need the adequate capital infusion into this sector.”
