By Thomas Domah/Nimba County
Tension is building up among residents of Nimba county over the huge influx of Burkinabe nationals into towns and villages specifically, near the border with neighboring Ivory Coast.
The New Dawn Nimba County correspondent, who is currently touring the border says the Burkinabees are in Electoral District#6, including Kparblee administrative district, carrying out farming activities.
This paper also gathers that they are engaged in cash crops and preventing residents from entering their farms, which some youth of the area think, may cause friction in the future.
Kparblee administrative district youth representative Josephus Freeman, narrates that some Nimba citizens welcome the Burkinabees into the county and gave them land for farming, but the strangers are now stopping their hosts from entering bushes where the farms are located, a situation that has generated tension between both sides since Monday this week.
Residents in the affected areas, who spoke with the New Dawn, explain that the Burkinabees have been helping them with their farms and in return, they were offered land to farm for themselves.
When the New Dawn contacted Nimba authorities including the county commander of the Liberia Immigration Service, Madam Yei Dolopei, she reveals that recently, a high-level delegation visited the district and held meetings with citizens about the huge presence of Burkinabees in the county.
Commander Dolopei notes that some citizens welcome the foreigners’ presence in their communities because they are currently helping them to farm.
The LIS Commander says she is also engaging the county administration and other civil authorities in the district to get involved by going on the ground to ask the Burkinabees out of the bushes that are about 400 kms away from towns and villages.
Similar accommodation of Burkinabees by citizens has been occurring in Grand Gedeh county near the border with Ivory Coast with intermarriages reported.
According to the Minister of Mines and Energy, Gisler E. Murray, foreign nationals mainly Burkinabees, Ivorians and Ghanaians in Grand Gedeh are being encouraged into economic activities, including illicit mining.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/citizens-want-nimba-land-dispute-resolved/ Editing by Jonathan Browne
