By Stephen N. Tokpah
-Bong (freelance)
The Liberia Surveyors, Licensing, and Registration Board (SLRB), in collaboration with the Liberia Land Authority, has certificated and licensed 34 new surveyors across the country; something that could help reduce the operations of quack surveyors.
Liberia Surveyors Licensing and Registration Board emerged through the Proclamation of the People’s Redemption Council (PRC) Decree Number 23 Decree in the early 1980s in Liberia.
This Legislative decree laid the foundation for the establishment and regulation of the surveying profession within the country.
The primary purpose of creating the SLRB is to ensure that surveyors meet specific standards of competence, ethics, and professionalism.
The purpose of the Land Surveyors Registration law is to provide a standard of professional conduct and accountability for all land surveyors to control and regulate surveys and survey methods and to protect survey monuments, markers, beacons, and other legitimate survey reference appurtenances on land.
Mr. George Ashton Wreh, Co-chairman of the Surveyors Licensing and Registration Board, speaking at the ceremony, said the SLRB is granted the authority to regulate the licensing and registration of surveyors practicing within Liberia.
He said the creation of the SLRB aimed to standardize the surveying profession by setting forth criteria for licensing, ensuring that individuals entering the field met the required qualifications.
Mr. Wreh said the SLRB plays a pivotal role in ensuring the quality and competency of surveyors by establishing standards for education, training, and practical experience.
“By regulating the surveying profession, the SLRB contributes to public protection by ensuring that individuals seeking surveying services receive them from qualified and competent professionals. The decree provided the SLRB with the authority to enforce compliance with regulations and take disciplinary actions against surveyors who violate professional standards, ” Mr. Wreh stressed.
Dr. Mahmoud Solomon, Chairman of Testing and Evaluation at the Surveyors Licensing and Registration Board, said 60 candidates sat the SLRB exam, and out of said number, 34 made a successful pass.
He said SLRB is a legal body that has the power to qualify and license surveyors across Liberia as a professional body, which was established in 1980 by PRC Decree 23 to regulate the behavior of surveyors in the field.
Dr. Solomon said the entity has over thirty-eight licensed Surveyors, noting that the coming of the new members will boost the profession and help address some of the challenges of individuals pretending to be Surveyors when they are not.
The SLRB Chair on Testing and Evaluation noted that out of the 34 candidates, nine of them are female who were certificated and licensed to join other female Surveyors, describing it as a boost to the profession.
The sector is challenged with many issues ranging from multiple criminal surveying of land to impersonators professing to be surveyors and many others, which has affected the lives of many citizens leading to hundreds of land dispute cases that have filled the docket of courts across Liberia.
He maintained that the coming of an additional 34 professionals will bring great relief and value to the profession.
Abel Z. Allen, the top-performing candidate in the SLRB 2024 exam, lauded the board for the initiative.
He assured the board of the SLRB of their commitment to transforming the land sector of Liberia.
He, however, called on the public to always contact surveyors who has requisite documents including their identification, at the same time urged them to be mindful of individuals who will pretend to be surveyors.
The Project Manager for the Delivery of Sustainable Land Services in Liberia, Christopher John Byren, told the graduates that the role of surveyors in society cannot be overstated.
He emphasized that surveyors are individuals who provide the essential foundation for land use and development.
“From the simplest property boundaries to the most intricate construction projects, we are the architects of precise measurement, making sure the very ground beneath our feet is understood, mapped, and utilized to its fullest potential,” he added.
Mr. Byren, who served as keynote speaker, described the graduation ceremony as a historic occasion in the history of the Republic of Liberia, as this has never happened before, and increased the number of licensed Surveyors in Liberia by a remarkable 50%.
He told the graduates that the road ahead is long, and much work needs to be done in the Liberian land sector.
This is however a very profession that plays a vital role and makes vital contributions to the development of a country and its citizens
The ceremony was attended by Civil Society Organizations, Delivery of Sustainable Land Services in Liberia, Land Management Activity, Local Government officials, Board of Commissioners of the LLA, Pepperbird Aerial Services/Lake Piso Solutions, CEO Isaac Vah Tukpah, developmental partners, and family members of the graduates.
