By Solomon T. Gaye Sr.
Report from Sanniquellie City has allegedly linked the sale of public land to the City Mayor, Moima Kamara.
Speaking to this paper in Sanniquellie over the weekend, Old-lady Rebecca Suah explained that since the appointment of Mayor Kamara the sale of public land has been on the rise in the city, in Nimba County.
According Old-lady Suah, those community dwellers who bought areas from Mayor Kamara are presently building modern houses on the properties.
Old-lady Suah named the old Military Barracks community, the Airfield and the Lake Teleh communities while Chief Elder Roland Biah called on the government to investigate the allegations into the public land sale; and as well stop all those building houses on the property of the government’s old Military Barracks, the airstrip and Lake Teleh to desist in order to avoid any future land dispute in the county.
Oldman George Diah frowned on the sale of government’s land by Mayor Kamara in the county but what seems to be the issue was that during a visit at the government’s old Military Barracks, people were busy constructing modern buildings while other makeshift houses had already been constructed.
When this paper contacted those that were constructing houses within the vicinity of the old Military Barracks, the airfield and Lake Teleh communities; they declined to comment on the issue, but instead referred this paper to contact Mayor Kamara.
Since the appointment of Mayor Kamara in 2018, alleged report of public land sale had been the order of the day, and this is the second allegation linking Mayor Kamara in less than a year in the county as during the beginning of 2022, residents in Sanniquelliemah accused him of selling the airfield to the community dwellers and transformed it to a market ground.
When this paper contacted the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) office in Sanniquellie, the administrator, Eddie Beangar confirmed the sale of public lands and confirmed that Mayor Kamara sells land to community dwellers in the name of squatters’ rights.
According to Beangar, since the passage of the Land Right Law in 2018, all land functions carried out by other ministries and agencies are transferred to the Liberia Land Authority; however, he disclosed that “Public land sale is prohibited under the law by anybody or county authority.”
When this paper also contacted Sanniquellie City Mayor, Kamara, via mobile phone, she confirmed giving squatter’s rights to many of the community dwellers but denied selling public land.
She named the old Military Barracks, the airstrip and Lake Teleh as areas provided by the City Corporation for squatters’ rights respectively.
“Government is not providing operation funds and does not have garbage trucks; so workers are not being paid, therefore proceeds from the squatters are used to pay the workers,” Mayor Kamara acknowledged.
