By: D Abraham Cooper |Grand Gedeh County Correspondent
Zwedru City Grand Gedeh County – August 19, 2025-The Liberia Land Authority has charged two communities in Grand Gedeh County US$11,900 in order to do the boundary separation thus leading to the resolution of long –dragged out dispute involving Burkinabé cocoa farmers.
Late last year, Bargblor and Tojallah in the Gbao and Cavalla Districts started a boundary dispute involving Burkinabé cocoa farmers. Following police probe and court intervention, the matter was passed to the Land Authority for an amicable settlement, which then imposed the fee.
The majority of the money covers transportation, allowance and data collection, and administrative costs among others, according to an estimated budget obtained through a sisterly news outlet; The DayLight.
Townspeople in Bargblor told RNN reporter that they paid US$500.00 against the charge, but presented no evidence. Those in Tojallah, on the other hand, also allegedly paid US$170.00 for “Registration, transportation and mediation” to David Togbasie, County Land Dispute Officer.
“They told us we had to pay a hundred US dollars each just for them to listen to us,” said Peter Carr, a Tojallah elder. “That’s just to hear the case, not even to get the survey done. And now, they want us to cough up nearly US$12,000 before they can even step on our land,” he further indicated.
However, as per the current Land Rights Act, it places the responsibility for boundary harmonization on the government. The law was passed in 2018, grants customary communities ownership of their ancestral land; ending decades of marginalization vis-vis land ownership. However, neither Tojallah nor Bargblor has established their boundaries, a crucial part of the present situation as well as the law.
Social campaigners, who have seen the document, said the Land Authority was in violation of the law establishing the Liberia’s Land Authority and is wrong in charging the communities before settling their boundaries.
“Yes, it’s true the Land Authority charges fees to carry out customary land activities under the fees and regime, but it’s wrong to charge customary communities this much,” said Alphonso Henries, the coordinator for NGOs working on land reform in Liberia.
“The law is intended to build the economic strength of the people and not to deprive them. The Land Authority’s action was wrong and hasty. I think they went too far to exploit the situation,” added Henries.
Togbasie and Paye Freeman, the county Land administrators, who approved the charge, said they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
Kweshie Tetteh, the LLA Communication Director, who has that authorization, justified the charge in a Monrovia interview. “Tojallah and Bargblor are not just a case of customary land formalization”, said Tetteh.
The DayLight is given Credit for this report…
