The Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) has introduced a new application form for persons desirous of applying for a plot of land – one that will better evaluate the applicants.
Minister of State, Joseph Harmon turns the sod for the new structure along with other regional executives
This was announced on Wednesday as the Commission conducted a sod-turning exercise for a new office in Crane, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).
A senior officer at the Commission noted, “We have new application forms, if you go through it and you compare it to the old ones you will see the logic in the questions being asked for you to provide information on the form. We have new application forms for Government agencies as well, which we never had before and we have for businesses so all of the questions are geared towards evaluating the applications properly”.
In addition to this, the GLSC also pointed out that a Wide Area Network has also been implemented which will allow inter-region connectivity. This will reduce the time a transaction takes at the Commission as it will allow for the various offices to connect to the head office’s database to access maps, plans and application leases, among others.
Usually, a client would have to visit the GLSC’s head office to make queries, or in some cases, visit the regional office where the query can take up to three weeks to be processed.
The sod-turning exercise was conducted opposite the present GLSC office in Crane, where the new building is to be constructed to the tune of some $37 million.
It was explained that the current structure is in a deplorable state. An officer attached at the regional office said, “We inherited this building in 2001 when we became a Commission from the Regional Administration and it is, if you look over the road, a wooden building and what comes along with that is lots of repairs (due to) rotten woods, leaking roofs and so on”.
State Minister Joseph Harmon told the small gathering that he was pleased to see the piece of land, which was once used to house derelict vehicles, be transformed into a green space.
Given that Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) generates the most revenue, a Commission was first established in that region to cater for the needs of the people there. Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) falls in second when it comes to generating an income, which led to a structure being erected there to serve residents.
The Region Three office is the third office to be set up across the country although more revenue is generated in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).
The new structure will include living quarters for its employees.
GLSC said it plans to extend its services to other administrative regions in the near future with Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) next on the radar.
Following this project, the Commission intends to set up another office in Port Kaituma in Region One (Barima-Waini).
In addition, a survey for the district office in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) has been completed which is likely to come on stream by next year.
