TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR INVESTIGATIVE STUDY FOR THE EU LAND RIGHTS PROJECT 133 views0 applications

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR INVESTIGATIVE STUDY FOR THE EU LAND RIGHTS PROJECT

RESEARCH TOPIC:

An Assessment of the current status of Land Governance in Liberia: Analyzing mandate versus capacities amidst the expectations for successful Implementation of the Land Rights Law of 2018

1. BACKGROUND

Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) www.cafod.org.uk is the official development and humanitarian agency of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and a member of the global Caritas family. CAFOD currently works in partnership with more than 500 national non-governmental organizations in about 40 countries, from those of all faiths, and none. CAFOD Liberia, does work in areas including; Food and livelihoods security, Rights and participatory governance and emergency preparedness response and recovery. As part of our work on Rights and Participatory Governance CAFOD is currently implementing a Land Rights for Liberia project funded by the EU.

CAFOD Liberia is a consortium member for an EU funded project: Land Rights for Liberia – Equitable access to land for the poor and marginalized communities , which currently is in its 3^rd year of implementation. During this project, CAFOD and her implementing partners have contributed to tremendous positive changes in the land sector, including work around the passage of the land rights bill and subsequently the Land Rights Act. The consortium continues to support communities, local and national authorities to ensure that the land Act balances the rights and interests of all users especially marginalized groups. CAFOD has been instrumental in creating awareness to local communities on the rights of women and youth to access land and secure land tenure both before and after the passing of the land rights bill into an act of law. With these interventions CAFOD has reached all the 40 communities within its project scope. The next step is to now support as and where necessary in processes that will contribute to the successful implementation of the law.

In 2013, the Government of Liberia adopted a Land Rights Policy that served as the basis for the formulation of the Land Rights Act (LRA) which was subsequently passed into law and published on October 10, 2018. The LRA outlines four categories of land ownership, including Government Land, Public Land, Private Land and Customary Land. At the same time, the interests and rights in land under all four categories are protected by the Constitution of Liberia (Article 11 of the Constitution and Article 10 of the LRA).

The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) has the statutory mandate to implement and enforce the LRA and regulate the land sector. However, it is highly important not to negate the challenges in the way of land governance in totality. From the standpoint of Land administration to Land ownership the issues are complex and thus there are challenges amidst the huge expectations in the implementation of the law, especially with the meager resources available to government. It is on this premise that this research is being commissioned to assess the current status of land governance system of Liberia in terms of the mandate versus capacity of the regulatory institutions in the wake of massive expectations toward the implementation of the Land Rights Act of 2018. This research will be conducted in close collaboration with the Liberia Land Authority.

2. RATIONALE:

The passing of the LRA is a huge step but not at all the end. For the Act to have a positive impact on the poor and the most vulnerable especially the women and youth as the focus of the Land Rights for Liberia project, effective implementation is required. Against this backdrop, CAFOD is commissioning an investigative research that seeks to explore and identify some of the challenges and prospects of implementing the LRA considering all the actors with interests in land. This investigative research will assess:

• The current status of Land governance and administration in Liberia with the lens of preparedness of state and local institutions, existing legal frameworks and administrative provisions to implement the LRA with focus on past provisions on customary/community rights.
• Political will and national government commitment to push the implementation
• The study will engage various institutions, policy makers, political leaders including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Land Authority, the County Administration, chiefs, local and traditional leaders and community organizations involved in land management. The findings of this research will be used by the Liberia Land authority to inform key implementation bodies and help shape the project consortium interventions around coordination with the LLA and enable effective implementation of the LRA.

3. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The consultant is expected to conduct the study with the following objectives;

I. Identify and provide key descriptions and mandate for all existing institutions responsible for Land Governance in Liberia

II. Assess the institutional preparedness and capacity of these institutions to fulfil their mandate as outlined above in land governance with focus on implementing the LRA (This could include inter alia financial capability, human resources & staffing, organizational structures and other administrative arrangements

III. Investigate the adequacy and limitations of existing supporting Legal frameworks for the implementation of the Land Rights Act at national and local level with a special focus on the provisions and on customary/ community rights. This will be through the analysis of existing laws and policies that may support and/or impede the implementation of the Land Rights Act e.g. The criminal conveyance law, Domestic relation Act, Inheritance law, community forest law, the constitution etc.

IV. Explore other non-legal factors that may support and/or deter the successful implementation of the LRA

V. Assess the nature and extent of political commitment by key political actors and governing bodies in the country to enable the implementation of Land rights Act; national government support to the Liberia Land Authority.

VI. Recommend specific actions on how to respond to the identified gaps (both legal and non-legal) to facilitate the implementation of the LRA including how to maintain public ownership and acceptance of the main elements.

4. SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will conduct the research in line with the objectives stated in 3 above and will be expected do the following as part of their overall methodology: –

§ Engage both local and national institutions working on land rights and implementation on the same. This includes CSOs, and community grassroot structures employed under the LRA for implementation for instance the CLDMCs, ICCs etc.

§ Build on relevant analysis of key institutions done earlier as part of the work on the passage of the bill

§ Review existing legislations governing Land rights within the country both at county and the national levels with a focus on the provisions relating to customary/community land rights. Where possible use and refer to successful case studies or good practices from similar jurisdictions. The review should investigate whether existing legal and institutional structures governing aspects of the land systems have rationalized mandates especially harmonized with environmental laws

§ The importance of political commitment cannot be over-emphasized. The Consultant will be expected to undertake rigorous discussions with political influencers, policy makers and practitioners from which they can make informed judgement on the willingness and political will, outlining what would be required to get buy-in for the implementation of the LRA This also includes looking at how to promote continuous public ownership and acceptance of the main elements of the LRA.

§ Facilitate a dissemination and validation workshop with all stakeholders involved during the research period to share the results of the study.

§ The consultant is tasked to produce a comprehensive report, addressing all aspects outlined in the objectives section. He/She will also be required to perform their task diligently and respond to queries from CAFOD in a timely manner.

5. OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES:

The Consultant will provide four key outputs:

1. A statement of work clearly outlining a methodology of how they will undertake the work and clearly stating aspects where key research members might be involved
2. First Draft report to be discussed during the Dissemination and validation workshop. CAFOD and consortium partners reserve the right to provide as many rounds of comments needed on the draft report and request reasonable revisions to the final report to meet the required standards
3. Dissemination and Validation workshop
4. Comprehensive descriptive and analytical report incorporating the Research findings, recommendations and options and input from the Validation workshop (2 copies hard copy and soft copy shared on email)

6. ROLE OF CAFOD

• CAFOD Liberia team will provide the overall guidance and technical support with input from CAFOD international technical team as required
• Link consultant with the authorities of the Liberia Land Authority for guidance of the research and required support
• Review and approve the work plan, including the timeframe and methodology to be applied
• Provide the consultant with background information and reference material including all relevant project documents
• Meet the relevant costs related to the investigative research as agreed in the contract upon approved offer.Provide the consultant with technical and networking support, including contact information and arrangements for meetings where necessary
• Provide timely feedback to consultant on products submitted for review.
• Follow up and evaluate progress on execution of the task assigned
• Review and approve the draft and final product as stipulated in the expected outputs/deliverables
• Quality assurance of the final product

7. DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT

The overall timeframe of this consultancy is Thirty-one (31) from the date of signing of the contractual agreement. 21 working days for Field Research, 10 working days for reporting inclusive of validation workshop.

8. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Interested consultants must have the following minimum qualifications and competencies:

• A Degree in Law
• Working experience of 3 years or more within the Land sector
• Good understanding of the Land reform process for Liberia demonstrable by similar assignments conducted.
• Demonstrable knowledge of conducting studies on legal instruments
• Knowledge of the contents of the LRA of 2018 among other legislation on Land Governance
• Experience working with and conducting research involving INGOs, Governmental and non-governmental institutions from local to national levels
• Knowledge and experience of Community Based Approaches for development.
• Excellent English communication, report writing and presentation skills.
• Strong critical analysis skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to adhere to strict deadlines.

9. PAYMENT PROCEDURES

All Payments shall be made through bank transfer in three instalments.

• 1st instalment of 40% on Signing of Contract;
• 2nd Instalment of 30% upon submission of an acceptable first draft report
• 3rd and final instalment of 30% upon submission of the final Report incorporating inputs from the validation workshop

Note: The stipulated total cost of the assignment should cover all costs incurred during the research period including travel costs and sustenance for the research team. Reports produced both hard and soft copies and all other costs that may arise in the course of the research period.

Code of Conduct

The consultant including any member of their research team will abide to CAFOD’s code of conduct and in line with the Safe, Accessible, Dignified and Inclusive programming framework throughout their engagement with CAFOD. The Consultant will be required to sign the code of conduct at the signing of the contract, before commencement of any work.