Vanuatu Review of National Land Legislation, Policy and ... - AusAID

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a) Are appropriate land use and improvement conditions being imposedand enforced?b) The standard lease periods laid down in the Government land policystatement (30 years for rural leases, 50 years for urban leases and 75years for major investments and joint ventures) have been routinelyignored. It now seems that the universal lease period – anywhere andfor whatever land use – is 75 years. Not only that but it seems thatsome lessees have written in lease terms for longer than 75 years, byproviding for either a right of renewal or payment for improvements.Neither of these is legally valid.c) At the same time, it is unsatisfactory for the position at the end oflease terms to be left open. Clarification is needed on a lessee’s rightsof renewal, and what the options are in the final years of a lease term.d) Are the custom owners being approached for their consent when alease is transferred? If a lessee is a company, the lease can be“transferred” by a simple transfer of shares, without the need to seekthe custom owners’ consent. This is an obvious avenue for abuse,which should be closed.e) While forms are prescribed for leases, there is no statutoryrequirement that no changes can be made to their most importantcontents. There is little point in setting out requirements in forms, ifone party to the document can simply strike them out. All of theimplied agreements on the part of a lessee can be struck out by thelessee.f) No attempt seems to have been made to develop the joint ventureconcept. The political leadership put much emphasis on this device atindependence.8. Lease payments. The position regarding payments by the lessees of land isunsatisfactory. At present, it is partly left up to the parties to negotiate, but itis mainly being determined by Government legislative intervention. This isprobably a response to the perceived unfairness of arrangements which thelessees are negotiating with the custom owners. There are a number ofelements in the payments lessees must make – rents and premiums payableto the custom owners, and shares in a transfer price; fees for service(registration fees); taxes (both national and municipal). These paymentsmust be reasonable and rational. At present, they are not.9. Abuse of laws. The purpose of the Strata Titles Act is clearly being abusedat present, in its use for rural subdivisions of undeveloped land. The genuinepurpose of the Act, for issuing titles to units in buildings, must be reinstated.10. National Land Law. The Constitution in 1980 made provision for the NationalLand Law, and the above review of the land policies and legislation showsthe pressing need to move forward with its introduction. Many of theresolutions from the National Land Summit reinforce the problems identifiedabove, and the most appropriate way to deal with those problems is in theNational Land Law. Recommendations for how matters could be addressedthere will be made below.20
11. Strengthening rights in customary land. A major gap in Vanuatu’s presentland system is the absence of a law for strengthening rights in customaryland. Although the present system provides for the registration of leaseholdtitles, there is no provision for the custom ownership of any land to beregistered. Not only does this lead to doubts over whether the right customowners have entered into leases (a very common cause for dispute), but noservice is provided to custom owners who want to develop their own land,and seek additional security of tenure. There is a range of options availablefor strengthening rights in customary land, and for entering into agreements(leases, mortgages, etc.) over those rights. These are very sensitive matters,which require much consultation and careful consideration. It would makesense for such matters to be taken up, in the development of the NationalLand Law.5. LAND-RELATED LEGISLATIONA number of Acts deal with the professional and technical land aspects of surveyingand valuation.5.1. Land Surveyors Act 1984 (as amended)This Act sets up a Land Surveyors Board and provides for the regulation ofsurveyors and the conduct of surveys. Regulations passed under the Act providefor survey marks and boundaries and other technical survey matters, including theminimum areas, road frontages and widths required for subdivisions.5.2. Valuation of Land Act 2002This Act sets up the offices of Valuer-General and Principal Valuation Officer, andprovides for the valuation of land. The Principal Valuation Officer has a duty to“ascertain the value of each parcel of land in Vanuatu”, and enter that value in theValuation Roll (Sec. 7). Each taxing or rating authority receives a Valuation Listrelating to land parcels within its area (Sec. 11), and the owners of the parcels arenotified of their right to object to a valuation (Sec. 19). Objections are handled bythe Valuer-General (Div. 5), from whose determination an appeal lies to theSupreme Court, but only on a point of law (Sec. 26). The Valuation Roll andValuation Lists are public documents (Sec. 33).The Act also vests the Valuer-General with the functions previously performed bythe Lands Referee under the Lands Referee Act 1983, which it repealed. Theyinclude the determination of rent payable for a lease and any reassessment of rent,disputes over the value of improvements, and “any matter … relating to theinterpretation of a provision in the lease” (Sec. 5).5.3. Land Valuers Registration Act 2002This Act provides for the registration of land valuers and their professional discipline.Valuing of land by non-registered persons is prohibited (Sec. 13).21
Page 1 and 2: VANUATUREVIEW OF NATIONAL LANDLEGIS
Page 3 and 4: Table of ContentsAbbreviations…
Page 5 and 6: AttachmentsAttachment 1:Attachment
Page 7 and 8: Executive SummaryThe National Land
Page 9 and 10: 1. INTRODUCTION1.1. The National La
Page 11 and 12: Working under the direction of the
Page 13 and 14: 2.5. Basic needsLand dealings in Va
Page 15: “(2) The consent required under S
Page 18 and 19: participation by ni-Vanuatu nationa
Page 20 and 21: (Sec. 25). In such cases, any money
Page 22 and 23: i. introduced a different formula f
Page 24 and 25: 3.2.5. Urban Lands Act 1993The decl
Page 26 and 27: 4. REVIEW OF THE LAND POLICY AND LE
Page 30 and 31: 5.4. Land dispute settlementArticle
Page 32 and 33: c) a number of village and area cou
Page 34 and 35: a) The Act is administered by Provi
Page 36 and 37: Problems have arisen when custom ow
Page 38 and 39: Despite the substantial reforms and
Page 40 and 41: To ensure that land disputes are ma
Page 42 and 43: Deconcentration; and,Divestment.The
Page 44 and 45: The need for the preparation of the
Page 46 and 47: 7.12. ZoningLand management activit
Page 48 and 49: VANUATU LAND USE MANAGEMENT AND ADM
Page 50 and 51: 8.4. Time FrameThere are a number o
Page 52 and 53: Attachment 1INTERIM TRANSITIONAL ST
Page 54 and 55: Attachment 1Resolution 7: There mus
Page 56 and 57: Attachment 1EnforcementResolution 1
Page 58 and 59: Attachment 12. The Malvatumauri Nat
Page 60 and 61: Attachment 2INTARIM TRANSISIONAL ST
Page 62 and 63: Attachment 2 Kavman hemi mas pasem
Page 64 and 65: Attachment 2Long-tem strateji1. Mal
Page 66 and 67: Attachment 3Council of Ministers Re
Page 74 and 75: Attachment 5Membership of Steering
Page 76 and 77: Attachment 6C. Land-related legisla
Page 78 and 79:
Attachment 7Contents1. INTRODUCTION
Page 80 and 81:
Attachment 7without which there wil
Page 82 and 83:
Attachment 7Director GeneralDirecto
Page 84 and 85:
Attachment 7To extend the work of t
Page 86 and 87:
Attachment 7The number of land reco
Page 88 and 89:
Attachment 72.3.2. Enforcement Unit
Page 90 and 91:
Attachment 74. ENVIRONMENT UNITThe
Page 92 and 93:
Attachment 7The Shefa Corporate Pla
Page 94 and 95:
Attachment 7 Strengthening of DOLSR
Page 96 and 97:
Attachment 76.4. Overlap and Duplic
Page 98 and 99:
Attachment 8Res.NoResolution Admini
Page 100 and 101:
Res.NoResolution Administration/ Ac
Page 102 and 103:
Page 104 and 105:
Page 106 and 107:
Page 108 and 109:
Attachment 9c) A Part covering deal
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Attachment 9considered by the Counc
Page 112 and 113:
Attachment 9reviewing the present l
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Attachment 10VANUATU LAND USE MANAG
Page 116 and 117:
Attachment 10In valuation there are
Page 118 and 119:
Attachment 10the Secretary of the M
Page 120 and 121:
Attachment 10which extend below the
Page 122 and 123:
Attachment 10Short Term Initiatives
Page 124 and 125:
Attachment 11Scoping Notes for Shor
Page 126 and 127:
Attachment 11an improved understand
Page 128 and 129:
Attachment 11It is proposed that th
Page 130 and 131:
Attachment 113. Develop a methodolo
Page 132 and 133:
Attachment 11particularly under the
Page 134 and 135:
Attachment 11Institutional arrangem
Page 136 and 137:
Attachment 11The Foreshore Developm
Page 138 and 139:
Attachment 11 Operating within a fo
Page 140 and 141:
Attachment 11Institutional arrangem
Page 142 and 143:
Attachment 12Date Personnel Intervi
Page 144 and 145:
Attachment 12Date Personnel Intervi
Page 146 and 147:
Attachment 13Purpose and Objectives
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Vanuatu Review of National Land Legislation, Policy and ... - AusAID

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