The Land Rights Act (2014) was submitted to members of the legislature by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, which marked a very major step in resolving the country’s land conflicts; delineates the different categories of land ownership and rights by discussing the bundles of rights associated with each land category. The proposed Act itself recognizes Government Land, Public Land, Customary Land and Private Land. Under the Private Land category, the ownership of private land shall become extinct by abandonment and the land to government if the owner fails to pay all taxes on the land for a continuous period of 10 years or the land has not been occupied, developed or used by the owner for a period of 10 years. The same private land category provides that land may be acquired by many means, including adverse possession, when the occupant remains in possession without objection for a continuous period of 15 years. Under the Customary Land, a community’s ownership of land includes the ownership and rights to use an alienate, by any means, all non-mineral resources on the land such as forests.

Source: Daily Observer May 09, 2018 02:30 UTC