TOR FOR AN INVESTIGATIVE STUDY FOR AN EU FUNDED LAND RIGHTS PROJECT 83 views0 applications

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

RESEARCH TOPIC:

An Assessment of the preparedness of institutions, mobilization of political commitment and effective engagement of communities to implement the provisions of the Land Rights Act 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 36 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 Liberia 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 project which currently is in its 3^rd Year of implementation. During the course of 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 steps is to now see that the law is implemented in its entirety and ensure that all the aspects as advocated for are taken into consideration.

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. In the onset of the LRA implementation it is imperative that the authority understand the requirements of the same and its readiness to implement the Law. Land ownership issues are complex and thus there are challenges expected in the implementation of the law, from a legal, institutional, technical and political standpoint. Stronger rights in the national law can be undermined by customary laws or in provisions in other laws that are not directly concerned with the land rights. It is on this premise that this research is being commissioned to inform the current situation in terms of the ability of the responsible institutions to carry on their duty in implementation of the Land Rights Act (LRA) of 2018

2. RATIONALE:

The passing of the LRA was a huge step but not at all the end on land rights for Liberia. In order for the Act to have a positive impact on the poor and the most vulnerable especially, women and youth as the focus of the Land Rights for Liberia project, effective implementation of the LRA 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. This investigative research will assess: –

• The preparedness of state and local institutions, existing legal frameworks and administrative provisions to implement the provisions of the LRA with particular focus on path provisions on customary/community rights.
• Political will and 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 to inform key implementation bodies and also help shape the project consortium interventions to 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 the implementation of the Land Rights Act.

ii) Assess the institutional preparedness of these institutions to fulfil their mandate as outlined above in 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 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.

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 project for implementation for instance the CLDCs, ICCs etc.
• Evaluate that structures that have been proposed to be employed under the LRA to support its implementation such include the CLMDCs at community level.
• 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 particular 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 look into 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 and consortium partner staff will provide the overall guidance and technical support with input from CAFOD international technical team as required

· 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, set out as follows:

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 management

§ 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. REMUNERATION AND PAYMENT PROCEDURES

The total cost of the assignment is Twenty thousand (20,000 USD) United stated Dollars. Payments shall be made through cheque or bank transfer in three instalments.

§ 1^st instalment of 40% on Signing of Contract;

§ 2^nd Instalment of 40% upon submission of an acceptable First draft report

§ 3^rd and final instalment of 20% upon submission of the final Report incorporating inputs from the Validation workshop

Note: The stipulated total cost of the assignment covers all costs incurred during the research period including travel costs and sustenance for the research team, execution of the validation workshop, 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. Consultant will be required to sign the code of conduct at the signing of the contract, before commencement of any work.

Applications

Interested applicants should send their applications via Email to Cecilia Samura on [email protected] by the 3^rd of May ,2019.

The application should include;

i) A Cover letter indicating their understanding of the task, how they plan to carry out the work and an accompanying budget for the work as stipulated in this TOR.The budget should provide a detailed breakdown of costs by deliverables and estimated person days to accomplish each task.

ii) A detailed workplan as per the deliverables and number of days assigned for the assignment

iii) CVs of all members of the consulting team. Traceable references and proof of similar work done in the past Please include at least two professional references (name, relationship, email and contact number) that can be easily contacted by CAFOD