The primary mandate of the Authority is to develop policies on a continuous basis, undertake actions and implement programs in support of land governance, including land administration and management.
The land governance functions of the Authority are to
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Control and manage effectively, impartially, and in the interest of equitable development, access to and use of Public Land and Government Land, except Reserves, Protected Areas, Proposed Protected Areas, and diplomatic missions, as of the Effective Date of the LLA Act of 2016 and Reserves:
- hold and manage all unallocated Public land on behalf of the Liberian people;
- compile, and maintain an up-to-date inventory of all Lands within the Republic;
- allocate such land to government entities, national and local, for their use in performance of their public responsibilities;
- in collaboration with all Government Agencies, ensure that such government entities use that land appropriately and effectively and where the land-suing government entity is informed of a serious failure on its part in this regard and fails to remedy that failure within a reasonable time, resume control of that land,
- with the prior written approval of the President, sell or otherwise alienate such land, consistent with the provisions of the Land Rights Act;
- ensure that all funds from the sale or alienation of such land is deposited directly by the buyer into the general revenue account of Government for appropriation by the National Legislature.
- allocate such land to conservation purposes, in parks or reserves, and propose any needed adjustments in existing commitments of land to those purposes;
- allocate such Public Land for concessions, working in close coordination with the relevant and appropriate ministries, agencies or other Commissions;
- establish and revise from time to time, by publication in the Gazette, charges for the use of public land which charges or rents shall be collected by the Liberia Revenue Authority and deposited in the general revenue account of the Government for appropriation by the National Legislature.
- hold and manage all unallocated Public land on behalf of the Liberian people;
- Promote, support and ensure the development of land use plans, and zoning schemes and their implementation through municipalities, towns, and other local government structures;
- Adjudicate disputes arising in the context of systematic land registration which have not been successfully mediated in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act;
- Implement programs to support implementation of property rights in land, and in particular, programs for the security of tenure of those holding land under customary rights;
- Administer the deed registry and land registry systems, implementing the relevant laws and registering all land transactions and successions required by law to be registered;
- Establish standards and regulate survey and mapping services in the Country;
- Administer public survey and mapping services, and the national cadastre; and promote and regulate the proper development of the private surveying profession; and therefore under no condition shall a surveyor or other staff of the Authority engage in the survey of private land or in the survey of communal land in a private capacity;
- Value land and buildings for the Authority's land registry systems, in collaboration with the relevant agencies of Government and which valuation may be used for taxation and other purposes:
- Create and administer, or cause to be created and administered, and accurate and complete database of all land holdings and rights in land in Liberia and seek to ensure their integration into broader databases such as Land Information System database;
- Produce and sell, on a commercial basis, maps of land and landholdings;
- Provide to the public on request information on land holdings and interests in land which shall be public information under the Freedom of Information Act of 2010, subject to such charges as may be necessary to cover the cost of such provisions;
- Initiate research and implement programs for improvement of land governance and related matters;
- Issue and publish in the Gazette from time to time notices prescribing the fees to be paid for the Authority's services;
- Advise the President on needed changes in the policies and laws governing land rights, and land governance, including land administration and management;
- Cooperate with other relevant stakeholders with regard to all matters relating to land governance, including land administration and management.