Since the establishment of the Office of the Land Ombudsman in 2014 until today, it has operated with only one employee, which defeats the whole purpose of establishing the office.
The Land Ombudsman Menzies Samuel has confirmed the current situation and is working closely with the Public Service Commission on the new structure to hire additional staff and increase the budget to allow the expansion of its services throughout the country.
The vision and mission of this constitutional body is to be recognized as a leader in investigating complaints about the process of leasing and related handling of custom land that economically or socially excludes others.
Also to ensure that the initial leasing of customary lands and subsequent dealings involve the vast majority of customary group members, permanent easement holders (if any), indigenous citizens, and general members of the communities that may be affected.
Mr Menzies Samuel stressed that the Land Ombudsman values inclusivity, participation, collectivity, consensus, and equity in the leasing of customary lands.
The objective is to investigate whether the meeting of the customs owners or the disputing parties was properly constituted.
To investigate whether the customs owners or disputing parties agree to the registration of a lease or a request for the transfer of land or a request for a change in the lease class presented to them.
It shall also be investigated whether the customs owners or disputing parties understand the nature and purpose of any application or agreement (lease) presented to them.
Mr. Samuel, who has served as Land Valuer General for a long time and has a wealth of experience in the private and public sectors, added that once all operations have been investigated and all parties are satisfied, consultation meetings will be held with the traditional owners to obtain the negotiator’s certificate.
Once the owners are identified, the Customary Land Management Office must go through eight different steps before issuing a green certificate.