Six River Cess Clans Receive Customary Deeds скачать в хорошем качестве

Six River Cess Clans Receive Customary Deeds

YARPAH TOWN – Several clans in River Cess recently received customary deeds, granting them the right to manage and benefit from lands left behind by their ancestors. On December 10, 2024, the Liberia Land Authority(LLA) presented customary deeds to Gbarsaw, Dorbor, Ziadue, and Teekpeh Clans in River Cess County, formalizing the communities’ ownership. Then 10 days later, the Siahn Clan in Central River Cess District and the Togba-Nyankun Clan in Fen River District received theirs. “Today has become one of the happiest days of my life,” said Samuel Vonziah, chairman of the Gbarsaw Community Land Development Management Committee, fighting back tears. “When you see me coming down with tears, it is tears of joy, tears of pain, the kind of struggle that we have been through, and other people who struggled with us in the past. All this represents the difficulties we underwent. As communities celebrate this historical moment, we hope for a new beginning that would improve their lives,” Vonziah added. Edith Gbukpa, a women’s leader of Siahn, celebrated the milestone similarly. “In the past, our parents used to be caretakers of the land, but we are so happy today that we have right over our land.” The latest issuance increases the number of communities with customary deeds to at least 27 from a list of 21 as of September last year, according to official records. Five more communities are poised to be issued customary deeds, while 30 have registered and conducted confirmatory surveys, representing over 1.3 million acres of land. The six clans’ progress followed the completion of several processes that qualified the communities, including community self-identification, participatory mapping confirmatory survey, and. Before granting the property deeds, land authorities ensured all land disputes within the clans were amicably resolved.