OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN on Land and Environment, Abe Dabdoub, has called on the government to examine the system for land transactions and take the necessary steps to increase efficiency.
Mr. Dabdoub, who was making his contribution to the 2004/05 Sectoral Debate in Gordon House on July 20, said the process to effect land subdivisions, sales and purchases, and remove restrictive covenants, took far more time than was necessary.
Commenting on the removal of restrictive covenants, Mr. Dabdoub said the process was "tedious and time consuming" involving the Courts, the relevant local authority and concerned parties, which in the end affected the price at which land was sold.
He recommended that the Restrictive Covenants Act be amended to "facilitate a speedier process whilst protecting the rights of persons who might be affected by applications to remove or modify a restrictive covenant".
Furthermore, he called for improvements in the processing time for transaction carried out by the Stamp Office and the Registrar of Titles.
Mr. Dabdoub however, commended the government on the introduction of the eLandjamaica Project, which he said, has greatly improved access to information and has proved to be beneficial to attorneys-at-law, and land surveyors, real estate developers, agents and brokers.
A web-based property search service, eLandjamaica was launched in January 2003 to offer on-line access to Jamaica's valuation roll and to a wide range of other information, including global information system-based maps and land titles. Work is still being done on the system with a view to improving the service offered.
MAIN ADVANTAGE
eLandjamaica's main advantage is that it gives on-line access to the National Land Agency's valuation roll, which serves as the official inventory of all properties in Jamaica and is used as the basis for land tax assessment. The valuation roll includes a physical description of each property, its address, the name or names of its owner or tenant, its net annual rental value and total market value in Jamaican dollars.
Through eLandjamaica, farmers can now inspect the valuation roll and assess whether they are entitled to tax relief. In an effort to support the country's farming sector, the government offers 'agricultural de-rating' grants to landowners who use a substantial proportion of their land for agricultural production. These grants constitute a 50 per cent property tax exemption.
