Way cleared for new lands commission
by Robert Bazil
THE way has been cleared for the creation of the semi-autonomous Lands and Surveys Commission to replace the Lands and Surveys Department. Minister of Agriculture, Mr Reepu Daman Persaud piloted the Lands and Surveys Commission Bill through the National Assembly on Monday. According to him, the government feels, after careful consideration, that this step will help to create more efficiency and effectiveness at the department. The bill provides for a board to manage the affairs of the commission and it will comprise a chairman and 11 members. The governing body of the commission shall be the board which shall discharge the function of the commission. Persaud said the bill was published about five months ago and Members of Parliament would have had ample time to study it. Additionally, land leases will be extended from 25 to 50 years, he said. And those occupying leased land beneficially for 25 years or more will have the right to apply to the department for freehold title. "...the volume of the work will be lessened, the management will be lessened, and people will be armed with security which they can use to access loans to improve themselves, their family and their business," he said. The commissioner shall be the Chief Executive Officer as stated in Clause Nine. Apart from being audited by the Auditor General, the commission will have an internal auditor to audit its day-to-day activities and funds will be appropriated by the National Assembly. The commission will collect money and these funds will be used for its administration. Clause 46 deals with employees of the commission and states: "Before the commencement of this Act, the government and the commission shall, with the approval of the Public Service Commission, notify the officers and employees of the department that the commission wishes to retain them after the commencement of the Act." Persaud stated that such officers and employees shall be engaged on terms and conditions as may be agreed upon between the commission and any person so employed and which taken as a whole, are no less favourable than those applicable to them immediately before the date. He pointed out that the department requires a number of qualified surveyors and other areas of qualification, and unless conditions are created to provide attractive remuneration, it will not be able to get the skills needed. "Making the body semi-autonomous gives leverage so that we can attract suitably qualified people in all the areas so that we can have effectiveness," Minister Persaud said. Ms Deborah Backer of the opposition People's National Congress (PNC) said her party had no problem with the Lands and Surveys Department being incorporated to form the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission, in principle, which is in keeping with modern trends. But she charged that the mischief of the bill is to give the Minister of Agriculture an almost god-like control over this semi-autonomous body. Backer objected to a part which states that the board shall comprise a chairman and 11 other members, all of whom shall be appointed by the minister. She wondered whether this is the administration's definition of a semi-autonomous body, where one person can be a god-like creature. "How can we have any confidence that the efficiency of the commission can be enhanced when he (the minister) alone appoints all these players? "...What could possibly be wrong with the Act saying who are these people who should be appointed..?", she asked. Dr Rupert Roopnaraine of the Alliance For Guyana (AFG) proposed several amendments to the bill but only one was accepted. While he supported it in principle, he too felt that the minister had too many powers. Mr Takechand Ramnauth of the PNC urged that the bill be taken back to the drawing table. Leader of The United Force, Mr Manzoor Nadir, supported the bill in its present form but said members had expected to hear from Persaud some insight on how the semi-autonomous agency would operate.
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