During ex-President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s regime, she said the government set the public land in question for a special project and warned people not to build or encroach on it.
By Lincoln G. Peters
Monrovia, November 12, 2024: The Liberia Marketing Association (LMA) has rejected the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) ‘s claim that the marketers took part in the sale and distribution of a portion of their land.
According to information, ex-President George Weah’s former Minister of State, now Senator Nathaniel McGill of Margibi County, and former Public Works Minister Ruth Collins own properties there.
Kweshie Tetteh, the Land Authority Public Relations Officer, told journalists that the distribution and lease of the land confirmed the agreement between the LMA and the LLA.
He said the parties mutually agreed to issue the to affluent people and organizations for development purposes.
“This is a development grant land managed by both the LLA and the LMA for development purposes,” Tetteh noted.
A development grant deed shows the United Liberia for Business Expansion, signed only by the LLA’s chairman, Atty. Adam Manobah, who turned the parcel of land over to the business entity.
According to the agreement between the two institutions, there is no signature of an official from LMA.
“We have the legal authority to give a parcel of the land to people for immediate investment and to people who cannot afford to carry out the development of the land,” Tetteh noted.
Tetteh did not directly mention the names of Weah, McGill, and Cooker Collins.
He said President Weah had turned over the property, and if any of them wanted to invest for the common good of the community and the country, then it was necessary to give it to them.
“The LMA should know that we have every legitimate right to give a parcel of the land to anyone for development,” Tetteh added.
Reacting to the allegation on Monday, November 11, Mr. Patrick K Sarti, LMA’s Secretary General, denied his institution’s involvement with the sale and distribution of the public land.
“We did not give the marketers’ land to anyone. And nobody has any authority to sell it even without our knowledge,” Sarti clarified.
“If they are saying that the LMA is a party to the transaction, let them provide signature evidence.”
Upon removing sellers from Redlight, former President George Weah constituted a committee headed by the Ministry of Public Works. The Monrovia City Corporation served as the Co-chair and the LMA and others serving as members.
Mr. Sarti said that since the five markets were relocated to the 14h Omega International market, the LMA does not know its boundary between the Transport Union and the National Housing Authority (NHA).
He wondered how the LLA would say the LMA is knowledgeable of its sale and distribution.
“The LLA is the one at the forefront of the sale and distribution of the land. We have been left out of the process,” Sarti claimed.
The 400-acre area, known as Omega, was designated as a market ground in 2013 when the US Coast Guard’s radio tower was dismantled there.
The area’s name comes from the facility’s use of the Very Low Frequency (VLF) Navigation System, known as OMEGA.
Then-US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield handed ownership of the land to then-President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
By then, Sirleaf assured the US envoy that “The area will be used for market.”
“The Redlight market will be transferred to Omega, and the Sirleaf Market Women Fund will begin building there soon.”
Sirleaf also warned people not to build on or encroach on the land because it was public land set aside by the government for a special project.
