The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government is planning to “revive” a three Bill-strong legislative package that would create a Bahamian Land registry, a Cabinet Minister has confirmed.

Khaalis Rolle, minister of state for investments, told Tribune Business that the Government was seeking to ‘dust off’ and reassess the Land Adjudication Bill, the Registered Land Bill and the Law of Property Bill.

All three were brought forward under the former Ingraham administration, and Mr Rolle said: “There was a project started before on a Land Registry, and we’re seeking to revive that. We’re going to look at it again to determine how best to execute.”

The Bills were developed under the former government, but were then sent back to the Law Reform Committee and other government agencies for further review, and to account for feedback and consultation provided.

Nothing has been heard of them since, but the Christie government committed in its 2012 election manifesto to moving towards a Land Registry system in the Bahamas, describing this as “a must”.

Mr Rolle’s comments indicate that the Government is now looking to make good on this promise. They also come after the Bahamas’ Chapter of the Caribbean Growth Forum (CGF), in its recent report on ways to improve this nation’s investment climate, called on the Government to move towards land registration.

Focusing on land reform, the Investment Climate Working Group said: “Investors prefer to invest in countries where they feel their assets are protected.

“At times, investors are faced with litigation issues as it relates to clear land entitlement. It should be noted that currently the Government will not consider any project that does not have clear title, or if there are any liens or encumbrances on the subject land.”

The report added: “In the Bahamas, land administration is based on the old common law deeds recording system. In a deeds system a title is not guaranteed, and this has generated a tremendous degree of uncertainty in the Bahamian property market.

“Proof of title and ownership in the Bahamas continues to be highly problematic. For example, the unauthorised home demolitions experienced of late and the unclear titles in generational land, which sometimes involves foreigners.”

As a result, the Working Group called for the Government to develop a land registration system, which would give landowners - and purchasers - security of ownership.

“Under a title system there is a guarantee of indemnity (security) regarding who owns each registered parcel of land,” the report said.

“This guarantee enhances a property’s marketability. For instance, title properties are generally not vulnerable to claims of adverse possession – a risk that still exists under a Deeds Register.

“Ensuring formal property rights and effective land management is fundamental to economic growth, national wealth and sustainable development.”

As for the Working Group’s other recommendations, Mr Rolle said it was impossible “to articulate a policy off the cuff” over the suggestion that Bahamian entrepreneurs be allowed to borrow in foreign currency, and thus be placed on a ‘level playing field’ with their foreign counterparts.

This, the Bahamas Chapter’s Working Group said, could ultimately lead to the abolition of exchange controls and/or ‘dollarisation’ of the Bahamian economy.

Mr Rolle said this recommendation would involve “a major policy decision”, requiring input from regulators, different government departments and economists on “what would be the natural policy progression that does not cause shocks to the existing economy”.

As for the Working Group’s call to review the National Investment Policy, on the grounds that projects were denied because they conflicted with it, Mr Rolle said this would soon be overtaken by events.

“The National Investment Policy will eventually fall away through our accession to the World Trade Organisation,” he told Tribune Business. “We will have to codify in law how we treat investment. That will now become statute as opposed to being a policy.

“That will require us to look at every aspect of it to ensure it’s WTO compliant. There will be some changes, but the changes will be well thought-out, and before anything is imposed there will be consultation just to ensure what is done is acceptable and preserves the domestic business environment.”

Mr Rolle added that the Government was now waiting to receive the Bahamas CGF Chapter’s final reports, having already been sent preliminary recommendations.

Pledging that “without a doubt” the Government would take the reports seriously, Mr Rolle said: “The reason we agreed to become a part of this initiative is so we understand what the obligations of business are.

“We understand we have to have a technical development approach as opposed to a ‘hodge podge’ approach. We’re going to ensure we go through a development process where there are minimum standards for how we make decisions, and make information-based decisions.”

The Minister added that this tied into the Government’s desire to “improve the domestic climate for doing business”, and boost the Bahamas’ competitiveness and ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report.

The Government had received funding, or a grant, from Compete Caribbean to execute the potential reforms contained in the CGF reports.