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Haiti - Politic : Laurent Lamothe officially launches, the land reform in Haiti
08/09/2012 12:35:06

Friday, the Prime Minister, Laurent Lamothe has officially announced the launch of the land reform in Haiti during the closure of the round table on "land ownership and land security", which was held at the Hotel Karibe Convention Center, at the initiative of the Interministerial Committee for Territorial Planning (CIAT). Mr. Lamothe has expressed the willingness of his government to work for the reform of the Haitian land tenure system plagued by many difficulties. "It is more than time to engage in a reform to the expectations of citizens from all sectors," while providing tenure security as a fundamental element in the economic development of the country.

During this assizes, tha tbrought together more than two hundred participants : Surveyors, Solicitors, Jurists, executives of state institutions involved in land issues, members of civil society and of private sector, more than a dozen interventions have helped to shed light on all aspects of Haitian land issue related to the legal and institutional framework, the relationship between land and technology and the definition of a true land policy, were explored.

The implementation of land reform will have significant positive outcome for the country. It is first and foremost of the ability to identify quickly and easily the right of ownership. It will also contribute to the establishment of a secure environment to facilitate mortgages. All this will then offer a sound basis of development of and mortgage and the growth of construction companies. On the other hand, the reform will respond to the necessities of environmental protection, while helping to establish simplified procedures for the resolution of land disputes. Finally, it will ensure a better allocation for the state land.

Property issues are considered complex in Haiti and the difficulties of reconstruction after the earthquake of January 2010, often attributed to "land disorder" seem to confirm this general view, which often comes from a lack of knowledge of the field. In fact, the three pillars of security of tenure taken in its conventional sense, do not exist in Haiti :

The identification of individuals (State Civil in particular) is deficient ;
The identification of properties (cadastre) has never could be done, not even for the domain of the State ;
The identification of rights (by notaries and the Land Conservation) is clear only for a small number of properties.

Whose main negative impacts, have serious consequences for the country :

Fragmentation of land makes it difficult to modernize agriculture ;
Insecurity of tenure that does not allow owners to take the measures of environmental protection required ;
Tenure insecurity that discourages investment in the city and in the countryside ;
Difficulties in mobilizing land for urbanization planned, organized ;
Abusive exploitation of state land in the city and in the countryside.

It is now necessary that public and private institutions take the proper measure of the situation and can propose the necessary reforms. The Haitian government, supported by the French Cooperation and the Inter American Development Bank, is currently defining in a rational way a land policy in Haiti. It is essential that in undertaking a land reform, which will bring significant changes in Haitian society, all Haitian institutions can share the same approach. Executive, Legislative, Judicial and private institutions (notaries, surveyors, banks, insurance, etc...) have their part to play in enabling the modernization of land tenure in Haiti. Similarly, it is important that all the technical and financial partners of the Government, can contribute to a land policy clearly defined and involving all stakeholders.

The principles that structure this land policy are the respect for property and the desire to respond to the needs of national spatial planning and to the social needs of housing.

Expected results in the short term : (3-5 years)

A geodetic network modernized that meets the needs of engineers and fits in the global network WGS 84 ;
A cartography of high precision (1/500 in the city, 1/1000 in the country) for the purposes of the cadastre of 10% of the territory ;
A working method, that allows the treatment of land rights and the establishment of land data and of a Land Plan of Base that allows all to know not only the location of the plots but also to identify the rights on these plots ;
11 rural districts and the downtown of Port-au-Prince cadasterised ;
Method of regularization of the land situation in the poor neighborhoods of big cities ;
Surveys laws, on notaries, on land conservation, on the digitizing of land documents tabled in Parliament ;
he archives of the Directorate of Domaine (DGI), digitized and indexed ;
The archives of the Directorate of the Registration and Land Conservation, digitized and indexed to 25% ;
Review of the whole of training for all professionals involved in land ;
Notaries and surveyors better equipped to better meet their statutory obligations ;
The historical archives of notaries and surveyors protected ;
A new land law.

Expected results in the medium term : (10 years)

A cartography of high precision (1/500 in the city, 1/1000 in rural areas) for the needs of 100% of the cadastral territory ;
The archives of the Directorate of the Registration and Land Conservation digitized and indexed to 100% ;
50% of the territory cadasterised.