The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE government has decided to move with "expedition" on the preparation of a formal white paper on the urgent need for land reform in the Bahamas to address issues that have been "thorny" when it comes to the provision of issues like good titles among, state legal affairs Minister Elsworth Johnson announced yesterday.

According to Mr Johnson the process will also see three bills prepared under a previous Ingraham administration used to shape the undertaking.

The Law of Property Bill 2010, the Registered Land Bill 2010 and the Land Adjudication Bill 2010, he said, have already been circulated to the Bahamas Bar Association for comments and in due course will be widely circulated for public consultation along with any other bills deemed necessary by the Law Reform and Revision Commission.

He said once the white paper is prepared and laid before the House of Assembly, Dame Anita Allen - who will fill the post of law reform and revision commissioner - would lead the consultation process.

At the end of this process it is anticipated every piece, parcel, lot or tract of land will be easily identifiable by having a marker containing its assigned "folio number" and all claims and land charges will be duly noted in the folio related to the specific land, the Yamacraw MP said.

However, he did not give a timeline for the completion of this process.

"For too long a host of problems have affected land holdings and land titles in The Bahamas," Mr Johnson said as he addressed members of the House of Assembly yesterday.

"These difficulties range from the poor state of the Cause List Books in the Supreme Court Registry, which make it extremely difficult for lawyers to give unqualified advice on title to land and particularly whether any prior unsatisfied monetary judgments against the owner either exist or still are attached to an encumber the land; the difficulty in determining who owns or claims to own any unoccupied lot or parcel of land; the question of the status of generational claims to land - particularly in the Family Islands; the issue of squatter's rights, if any and lastly the status of the Quieting Titles Act and whether or not it should be repealed.

"The absence of certainty in land titles in too many cases, along with the often-informal nature of land-holdings in far too many of the traditional settlements in our Family Islands affects not only the issue of land title, but also directly attacks the possibility for land ownership to become an effective generator of wealth, whether in support of business loans or in the creation of certainty as to land ownership."

He continued: "The bitter and enduring experiences of the residents of Bozine Town and Nassau Village (and) Sir Lynden Pindling Estates in New Providence is losing what they apparently believed in good faith to be valid land titles, serves as a pressing reminder of the urgency of thorough reform of the entire system governing the law of property in The Bahamas."

This follows Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis' announcement last month that the government will stop selling Crown cays for private purposes.

During his mid-year budget presentation, Dr Minnis said the government will "retain for the Crown, a Crown reserve between ocean/sea, front/inland lake property, granted for private development, where un-alienated Crown land exists at the seashore, to preserve windows to the sea and open green and beach front spaces for the enjoyment of the public."

He said the government will also "regularise long-term occupation of Crown land developed or cultivated by individual Bahamians and/or families at concessionary rates" and "make crown land available to Bahamian nationals for residential, commercial and touristic development, particularly in the Family Islands".

Dr Minnis said a new Land Reform Unit will be established to "examine, organise and monitor activities".

He also said the government will seek to return land acquired that has not been used to claimants who the Office of the Attorney General determine has "clear and marketable titles".