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18 January 2024
Lantmäteriet's five-year project in Liberia was completed at the turn of the year and recognized at a ceremony on 12 December, hosted by the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) in Buchanan, Liberia. At the same moment, the new local office in Buchanan was also inaugurated after being renovated and equipped – thanks to the project's support.
“We probably wouldn't be standing here today if it weren't for the fact that the project was characterized by flexibility and so called adaptive management”, said Christopher Byren, project manager at Lantmäteriet.
The goal is a self-sufficient authority
Over time, it became clear that Liberia's land authority LLA needed well-functioning local offices in order to reach out to the entire country. Local offices that bring in revenues by their services are also part of becoming a self-sufficient authority in the long term.
With that as a background, the project partially turned around to support six selected local offices with equipment and training of the staff.
Much praise for ”talking books”
The project, called ILAMP, has also contributed with many other things. Much praise has been given for the investment in "talking books" , that is small devices with messages about, among other things, the "Land rights Act" and women's right to own land. These began to circulate around the Liberian countryside during the pandemic when a lot of other activity was down for obvious reasons.
During the closing ceremony in Buchanan, words of praise came from other organizations as well as partners, the Swedish embassy in Monrovia and LLA.
"Lantmäteriet has helped us move forward"
LLA's vice chairwoman Mrs. Bloh Sayeh spoke for the entire authority management when she praised the collaboration between Lantmäteriet through the ILAMP project and LLA:
“Decentralization is a necessity for Liberia to develop as a nation. Christopher and the project team have helped us move forward as an authority," said Bloh Savah
To mark the solemn occasion, LLA management presented traditional ceremonial clothing to the Land Survey's project team, while everyone was presented with their own Liberian names.
Hopefully there will be a continuation in Liberia
Mikael Lilje, head of the International Unit at Lantmäteriet, for his part thanked LLA for the warm welcome that Lantmäteriet have received during visits to the country. He also hopes that there will be a continued presence in the country even if the current project ended at the turn of the year
”Hopefully we are only at the start of a long journey together, as there is much left to do", he said.
A proposal for a new project is currently being processed by SIDA and the Swedish embassy in Monrovia.