ERC study finds…No national land distribution policy meets required standards for equity

ERC study finds…

No national land distribution policy
meets required standards
for equity
Kaieteur News, 10 October 2007

Bishop Juan Edghill, Chairman of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC)
yesterday received a report of the final research commissioned by the
entity and entitled ‘Land distribution in Guyana - An assessment of
existing practices.'

According to the consultant who conducted the research, Pamela Rodney,
among the findings in the report was that there was no national land
distribution policy in place that met the required standards for
equity.

Rodney, in her summary of the report, said that there is a white paper
on land and house-lot distribution, that it is being implemented.
However, “the ‘Paper' needs to be re-worked in line with the policy
guidelines for equity.”

With respect to the publicity of available land and issuance of claims,
she noted that the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission should institute
a policy to publicise all leases at both the national and regional
levels, particularly in the region where the lease is to be issued.

Rodney also said that the Ministry of Housing and the Central Housing
and Planning Authority should consider using other forms of publicity,
in addition to the newspapers, the television and radio. “The Ministry
should also remove restrictions in its distribution policy that may
hinder persons without children from accessing land.”

As it relates to the forestry sector, according to Rodney, systems of
appeals and adequacy of resources to carry out the work of the
Commission are some of the areas that need addressing.

She said that in relation to the granting of mining concessions, there
should be the revision and dissemination of the policy document in line
with equity guidelines, beginning with internal dissemination.

There should also be the strengthening of publicity when there is to be
advertising opportunities for claims/licenses to cater for persons who
did not use the newspaper, or had no easy access to the official
Gazette.

Among the general recommendations identified in the report, Rodney said
that there was a call for consistency in the information available at
all levels within the distributing agencies.

She also noted that there was a need for information-sharing among the
different agencies involved in the provision of land and its resources
within the Guyanese society as well as the need for coordinated efforts
among all land-related distributing or provision agencies.

According to Rodney, one of the major limitations that somewhat delayed
the report was the reluctance of some heads of agencies to grant
permission for the implementation of the study.

“In this regard, without disaggregated data it is difficult to have
conclusive findings on ethnicity. “As such the objective of determining
whether over a ten-year period there has been an equitable approach to
all concerned, could not be achieved,” she explained.

The research was conducted in eight of the ten regions and will be
presented at the first sitting of the National Assembly following the
conclusion of the parliamentary recess that ends today.

The study on land distribution in Guyana was intended to identify the
existing practice followed to select persons with respect to land
distribution for housing, agriculture, and commercial activities.

It was also intended to identify the existing practice followed to
grant mining concessions, claims and licenses; and to identify the
existing practice followed to allocate permission for forest resources
exploitation.