{"id":52828,"date":"2024-02-23T14:34:14","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T14:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-gobachop-squatters-relieved-as-lbs-waives-land"},"modified":"2024-02-23T15:04:57","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T15:04:57","slug":"liberia-gobachop-squatters-relieved-as-lbs-waives-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-gobachop-squatters-relieved-as-lbs-waives-land","title":{"rendered":"Liberia: Gobachop Squatters Relieved as LBS Waives Land"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>When the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) announced a few years ago that Sarah Jackson, and others who had been squatting on the public broadcaster\u2019s property in the Gobachop Community would be paying a monthly rent, her hope vanished.<\/p>\n

Sarah regained hope when former president George Weah asked the LBS to waive the land to the squatters because they have been occupying the area for decades with an agreement between the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) to collect $200 from squatters for a Public Land Sale Deed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tell the president thank you for giving us the area,\u201d she said. \u201c We will look for the money to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copy of the MOU between the LLA and the Gobachop Community<\/p>\n

Formerly occupied by thousands of marketers including petty traders, Gobachop, a sprawling slum community in Paynesville, grapples with limited housing and basic services like sanitation, and latrines. The rapid growth in urban communities like Monrovia and Paynesville since the end of the war in 2003 means slum dwellers make up 70 percent of the city\u2019s population, according to a Cities Alliance report.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, July 10, 2021, the government relocated marketers from the Gobachop market to Omega market, where they have occupied for decades, leaving Sarah, and thousands of residents who resided and earn a living through commercial activities, vulnerable.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince this market left, we are noting anything,\u201d said Sarah.<\/p>\n

Most of the people living in the Gobachop community do not have regular jobs and have very little income. They once depended on the market, but says the relocation of the market was a setback to them.<\/p>\n

The residents described the decision by LBS to collect monthly rent as inhumanue, and no rest for them, but hailed President Weah\u2019s for mandating LBS to waive the land to them which will make them legitimate owner for life once they paid for the deeds.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Massaquoi, Assistant Director for Government\u2019s Project at the Liberia Land Authority said the LLA, said the decision to pay the $200 was agreed upon by the leadership of the community that each identified, established, and vetted land claimant who is considered as the right squatter of the area will get their deed once they paid.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of the deed shall be issued directly in the name of the squatter on a plot of land including house, stores, and shops owners\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Massaquoi added that in 2021, LBS asked the LLA to conduct a survey off 100 acre of land, but after the survey they could only identified 62 acre off land due to encroachment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe president [Weah] asked us to reserved 4.3 acres of land in the circle to build public hospital, school, and playground playground inclusive of a sport pitch, and a public latrine,\u201d Massaquoi added.<\/p>\n

John Fineboy, the Acting Community Chairman said when LBS asked them to become tenant they had no where else to go, but to former pesident Weah, who intervened and convinced LBS to give the place to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur major problem is payment.\u201d Our people are complaining about the amount.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gobachop community comprises of the Kizito, Outland, and the Reservoir communities. But residents within the Kizito, Outland, and the Reservoir communities\u2019 disagreed that they are squatters. They argued that they are occupying private land which they bought from private individuals, not LBS, But a Memorandum of Understanding seen between the LLA and the community leadership referred to Kizito, Outland, and the Reservoir communities as squatters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have our land deeds that we bought from private individuals,\u201d said Marke Clarke, Kizito chairman. \u201cWe made it clear to LBS and the LLA during the survey that we are not squatters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although many have lauded the president\u2019s mandate asking LBS to waiver the land, however, a lot of people are skeptical arguing that LBS has not presented any deed to the community showing that they are the legitimate owner, so what if they paid this $200 and someone come in the future to claim the land.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government is their granter,\u201d said Massaquoi, who is responsible for monitoring government\u2019s lands. \u201cThe government should be liable for that, and not the individual\u201d<\/p>\n

Gobachop, a community situated in Montserrado County, district #4 is faced with many challenges. Limited infrastructure, latrines, and security.<\/p>\n

The area has been used by the Paynesville City Corporation as a trash holding point for nearby communities. Priscilla Cooper, who is now the representative of the district promised to work with the community to ensure that their needs are address.<\/p>\n

Rep. Priscilla Cooper addressing the community dwellers<\/p>\n

During one of her \u201cthank you\u201d visits on Sunday, Feb 2023, she visited the Gobachop, and the Wetin Town Communities. \u201cI have come to say thank you. Thank you so much. I wasn’t on a party ticket you decided to vote me. I have cone to apprehending all of you. Thank you, my people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The community dwellers complained about trash, water, security, health, and school to Cooper, she then promised to work with the ministries, corporations, and agencies responsible to handles these issues. As part of her thank you visit, she is giving L$50 to each community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI brought L$50 for the community right now no budget before the House of Representatives, we na get pay yet. So whatever we doing here coming from our pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n

She promised transparency, policies, and accountability with a holistic efforts to address the community dweller plights.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. When the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) announced a few years ago that Sarah Jackson, and others who had been squatting on the public broadcaster\u2019s property in the Gobachop Community would be paying a monthly rent, her hope vanished. Sarah regained hope when former president George Weah asked the LBS to waive the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":52826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-52828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-liberia","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\nLiberia: Gobachop Squatters Relieved as LBS Waives Land - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) announced a few years ago that Sarah Jackson, and others who had been squatti ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-gobachop-squatters-relieved-as-lbs-waives-land\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Liberia: Gobachop Squatters Relieved as LBS Waives Land\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) announced a few years ago that Sarah Jackson, and others who had been squatti ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-gobachop-squatters-relieved-as-lbs-waives-land\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-23T14:34:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-23T15:04:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/sm_1708687883.402484.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-gobachop-squatters-relieved-as-lbs-waives-land#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-gobachop-squatters-relieved-as-lbs-waives-land\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Liberia: Gobachop Squatters Relieved as LBS Waives Land\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-23T14:34:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-23T15:04:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-gobachop-squatters-relieved-as-lbs-waives-land\"},\"wordCount\":908,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-gobachop-squatters-relieved-as-lbs-waives-land#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/sm_1708687883.402484.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Liberia\",\"Liberia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-gobachop-squatters-relieved-as-lbs-waives-land#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-gobachop-squatters-relieved-as-lbs-waives-land\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-gobachop-squatters-relieved-as-lbs-waives-land\",\"name\":\"Liberia: Gobachop Squatters Relieved as LBS Waives Land - 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