By Bill W. Cooper
The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) through the Capacity Building for Inclusive Land Administration and Management Project (ILAMP) has ended a two-day orientation training workshop on LLA-approved Operational and Administrative Manuals in Gbarnga City, Bong County.
With support from the Lantmäteriet, the Swedish Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authority, the objective of the training which was sponsored by the World Bank through the Liberia Land Administration Project (LLAP) for staff of LLA County Land Offices is: “To provide an overview of the LLA’s approved operational and administrative manuals.”
The colorful event in Gbarnga, brought together staff from across nine LLA county land offices, namely, Lofa, Nimba, Bong, Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Rivercess, Margibi and Montserrado Counties, respectively.
Speaking at the event, the City Mayor of Gbarnga City, Bong County and Lucia Herbert praised the LLA for the level of work done over the years and called on the leadership to continue to do more.
She further extended thanks and appreciation to the donors, particularly the World Bank for helping the LLA to develop these manuals, and at the same time further praised the Swedish government through the Lantmäteriet/ILAMP project for the support to bring such a huge number of LLA staff together.
Speaking on behalf of the Board of Commissioners and staff of the LLA, Atty. J. Adams Manobah, Sr., Chairman, LLA, expressed thanks and appreciation to the World Bank and Lantmäteriet-ILAMP project team for the development of the manuals and the organization of the two-day event.
He further called on all staff of the LLA to act on the One-LLA vision and said it comes with protecting the image of the LLA, emphasizing, “My great staff and leaders of the land sector; you are key in land service delivery hence your role is vital to the enhancement of the land sector.”
“We can only be stronger together if we are united in our quest to do the right thing at our various offices across the country. I am appealing to you all to continue the level of engagement we are having. All is not good, yet, all can be good with sacrifice,” he intimated.
“This is why I am asking or calling on all of you County Land Administrators and Resident County Surveyors to please work with the local authorities. They are our hosts and they are our partners in our quest to land reform which includes the minimization of land disputes and conflicts within our respective counties,” he said.
He also praised the World Bank, Lantmäteriet/ILAMP, USAID, and Tenure Facility for their commitment and support over the years. We at the Land Authority are grateful and will remain grateful to all of those partners I may not be able to mention here yet who are committed to helping us make effective the land sector of our country.
“We can attract more if we do more. Working together means working with our Oversight Commissioners when there is a problem especially when it is beyond your control as head of the County Land Office,” he intoned.
Chairman Manobah further said that the law calls for the decentralization of the functions of the LLA, which directly supports national government policy on decentralization, thus this shows how vital the county land offices and staff are to the operation of the LLA in the country.
Chairman Manobah, after receiving a huge round of applause from the staff of the LLA after he announced that the LLA again maintained a 77 percent passing grade under the Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) scorecard adding that said achievement is a result of every single staff of the Authority.
Day one (1) of the training focuses on the presentation of the LLA Human Resource, M & E and Performance Management System Manuals, thus, day two focused on the importance of the Internal Communication Strategy, Organizational Manual and Training Policy Manual.
These presentations were carried out by Mr. Emmanuel Chedeh Davis, Communication and Outreach Officer, LLA, Maria Brander, Communication Specialist, Lantmäteriet/ILAMP, Mr. Stanley N. Toe, Executive Director, LLA, Mr Aryee Kotatee Williams, Jr., Director for Administration, Human Resources and Training, LLA, and Mr. Lincoln Flomo, Monitoring & Evaluation Officer, LLA.
