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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Attachment 72.3.2. Enforcement Unit (Land Dispute Management)The role of the Enforcement Unit is to deal with compliance matters and addresscases where there are breaches of lease conditions.The Enforcement Unit presently has a staff of 1 official. This person is expected tooversee compliance on a large number of land matters in the Ministry of Lands.Enforcement, or the lack of it, is a major issue in relation to the control ofdevelopment activities in Vanuatu. It is clear that one staff member is insufficient toundertake a compliance and enforcement role in relation to land matters and as aresult many enforcement issues remain unaddressed or are never identified.2.3.3. Valuation UnitThe Valuation Unit provides, upon request, the valuation of property for the purposeof land rent, compensation for properties, sale of properties and for statutorypurposes. It also provides assessment of rates for taxing purposes especially forthe two municipalities.There are many issues that need to be addressed in the Land Registry Office, mostof which are common to land registration agencies that are under staffed and underfunded. As well as the administrative and procedural issues there is also the issueof document storage and preservation of records. There is no backup system forany of the land records – leases, mortgages etc. which means that if there is a fireor a natural disaster that has an impact on the registry office building then there is avery good chance that many if not all the land records will be destroyed.2.3.4. Land Tribunal OfficeThe objectives of the Land Tribunal Office are: To survey and register customary land boundaries; To register customary land; To resolve land disputes and to determine ownership of land through outVanuatu; To facilitate villagers and chiefs to set up land tribunal courts; To establish land tribunal administration and policies.The organisational structure for the DOLSR approved in December 2004 did notinclude approval in the proposed structure to support customary land activities. Astructure for the Customary Lands Unit was approved in March 2006 and is shownin Figure 3. It was reported that the current reporting arrangement for the LandTribunal Office is inappropriate and needs to be reviewed.
Attachment 7Director ofLandsPrincipal Planningand Valuation OfficerSenior CustomaryLands OfficerVilaSenior CustomaryLands OfficerLuganvilleLand OfficerMalampaLand OfficerTafeaLand OfficerPenmaLand OfficerTorpaFigure 3: Organisational Structure of Customary Land UnitOf the 6 operational positions approved for the unit, only 1 position is occupied by afull time office (Senior Customary Lands Officer-Vila). The Senior Customary LandsOfficer – Luganville is occupied by a part time officer who has other landadministration commitments as well. It is intended that the Land Officer positionsincluded in the organisation at each of the other 4 provinces be only involved incustomary lands activities on a part tie basis.Given the importance of customary rights and the large number of customary landissues in Vanuatu it is of concern that the staffing for this unit is so low. There are anumber of other issues in relation to customary lands activities and the apparentlack of coordination. As an example Surveying and Mapping are undertaking pilotactivities in relation to the delineation of community boundaries however there is noinvolvement or linkages with the Land Tribunal Office.3. OFFICE OF THE VALUER GENERALThe Office of the Valuer General is a statutory body established under the Valuationof Land Act. Its activities are undertaken independently of the Department of Lands,Valuation Unit and State Law Office and the office budget is separated and isdirectly controlled by the Valuer General.The role of the Valuer General is stipulated in Section 3 of the Act and is:a) to exercise functions with respect to the valuation of land in Vanuatu; andb) to ensure the integrity of valuations under this Act; andc) to act as a land referee in disputes regarding rentals and land values.The Act also defines the functions of the Valuer General which include, resolvingdisputes regarding valuation of land, dealing with objections and appeals againstvaluations, determining the amount of rent payable for a lease of land anddetermining disputes relating to the value of improvements.
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 28 and 29:
a) Are appropriate land use and imp
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 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 108 and 109: Attachment 9c) A Part covering deal
Page 110 and 111: Attachment 9considered by the Counc
Page 112 and 113: Attachment 9reviewing the present l
Page 114 and 115: 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
show all

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

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?