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Million Dollar Cash Payment is the
Solution to Nimba Land Dispute By Nvasekie N. Konneh 29 April, 2010  After
many years of wrangling and mediation efforts, it seems like there is a
sign of permanent solution to the Nimba land crisis. The 14 member land
commission set up by the president of Liberia Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
to oversee the peaceful resolution to the land crisis that has plagued
Nimba County over the years came out with a proposed solution which is
to offer cash payments to either the original owners or the person
illegally occupying the properties. Under the chairmanship of a son of
Nimba County, the Musa Bility led commission, having listened to people
on both sides of the equation advanced the idea of providing money as
incentives to obtaining peaceful resolution to the protracted land
dispute. This proposal was made to the president by the commission and
was subsequently agreed that United Nation set aside one million dollars
to pay for the appraised values of houses in various places in Nimba
County. The whole process has been described by Chairman Bility as very
effective in setting the pace for peace in Nimba County. Going further
he said, “If this is the way to peace in Nimba County, we have to go for
that.” The process works like this: If Mr. A and B are fighting over the same property, the commission will establish who had the property before the war. If witnesses can testify that Mr. A owned the property before the war, then based on the appraised value of the property involved, the original owner is offered the money to build himself or herself another house on another land. If he disagrees, the same amount is offered to the other party. The occupying party is given the option to accept the money with the condition that if he refuses to accept it, he would be forceably evicted thereby losing both the property and the money. As things stands now, many of the illegal occupiers have accepted the cash payments which they would receive after the commission has submitted its reports to the president who will subsequently submit same to the UN for payment. According to the chairman of the committee, Mr. Musa Bility, in order to make the payment transparent, there will be an ID card system to identify those who will be receiving cash or retaining properties. In my conversation with the secretary of the secretarial of the commission, Prince F. Forfor, I was told that the committee have resolved 90% of the cases in Nimba and it is moving speedily to resolve the remaining 10%. He said in Ganta, where he’s from, there have been 210 cases resolved with the remaining of some 75 to 100 cases to be resolved. He said progress has been made in other places such as Saclepea, Ganta, Bahn, Tappita, and Karnplay. One exception in the whole process according to secretary Forfor has been Tappita where 99% of dispute is mostly between members of the same ethnic group the Gios. Responding to the question as whether Ganta is the most problematic of the places, Forfor said, “We have the same impression about Ganta but with money involved giving hope to people to find different places, the process there has been very smooth and people have been cooperating very well.” When I talked to Juroh Sanoh who has been the de facto spokesman for the aggrieved land owners of Nimba County what he thinks of the process, he said, “It’s a positive development and we hope it can solve the problem. If it leads to the solution of the problems then we think it’s a step along the way of resolving this land dispute in Nimba County.” In recent time, Mr. Sanoh has been criticized by some who feels his “inflammatory statement” in the media is not healthy to the process leading to the peaceful resolution to the long standing dispute. On the question whether money will be available to pay to the intended persons, Forfor said, “I certainly believe that the money is there to be paid once the commission, under the chairmanship of Musa Bility, submits its report to the president of Liberia.” Upon my arrival more than three weeks ago, my brother Abu Konneh, along with Cllr. Losene Bility went to Saclepea to represent our respective families in the process. According to brother Abu, one Daniel Gueh is to receive a cash payment of $350,000 LD for a house built on our land. Another illegal occupier is to receive $70,000.00 LD. One person still occupying some portion of our family land is David Quigley, a former representative of the district. In recent time, Mr. Quigley has come under increased attack not only by the Mandingoes in Saclepea, but also by some people in Zoe Geh District where sometime last year he was severely beaten for encroaching on lands belonging to others. It is only disappointing that someone like Quigley’s stature would take advantage of the war to illegally occupy lands belonging to others. When I talked to Prince Forfor, the secretary to the commission, he said to resolve issues involving people like David Quigley, there will have to be a special meeting between then and the commission chairman, Musa Bility and other members of the commission. Even though that meeting is yet to take place, it is hoped that such meeting will remove the last remaining obstacle to the final resolution to the protracted land dispute in Nimba County. |
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