41
Land (Conversion of Titles) Act of 1975. Currently, the State Land and Reserve Orders
govern the tenure on Reserve and Trust Land while the Conversion of Titles Act governs the tenure
on State Land. There is need to both modernize this legislation and to create one comprehensive act
dealing with land in State, Reserve, and Trust areas. Several specific changes are also in order: (1)
customary rights on non-leasehold land in the Reserves and Trust lands need to be articulated,
including the role of chiefs; (2) greater attention needs to be given to issues of dispute resolution;
currently, disputes can only be taken to the high court creating administrative bottlenecks; (3)
provisions preventing the valuing of land (i.e., permitting value to be charged on only the unexhausted
value of improvements) need to be revised to permit the market to establish land prices for
determining "fair" and "just" compensation and for setting lease rents; (4) any restrictions on land
transfers need to be thoroughly reviewed with the aim of liberalizing land markets including
abolishment of presidential consent; (5) as a term lease of 99 years is usually quite sufficient for
long-term tenure security as long as use conditions are not attached to the lease, it is recommended
that land use conditions be eliminated; and (6) careful consideration should be given to a
progressive system of rents/taxes on leases to prevent excessive land accumulation and land
underutilization. zi
Land Registry Act and Survey Act. The current legislation lays out rigorous survey
standards for preparing maps for leases. Attention is currently given to consideration of new
technologies (general boundaries surveys approach, modern computer and GPS mapping) to reduce
surveying costs and to speed surveying time. First, legislation will need to be updated to accommodate
these new technologies. Second, a legal base is needed that will accommodate registration of
documents by computer and introducing and enabling the registration of separate units of blocks of
flats or offices (sectional registrations). Third, the problem of the 14-year leasehold will need to
addressed. Either the relaxed survey requirements need to be provided for in the legislation (i.e.,
permitting simpler sketch maps), or eliminated to unify leaseholds around a standard 99-year lease.
Fourth, the duration of the 14-year lease should be increased, preferably to 99 years.
Land Acquisition Act. The sweeping powers granted to the president should be reduced, and
the rights of landholders clarified and strengthened to reduce abuses associated with land expropriation
(and on the basis of "unreasonably" low compensation) that occurred in the past. Compulsory
acquisitions for the public good should be based on willing buyer/willing seller provisions, and should
provide for right of appeal.'
Subdivision policy. Because policies aimed at curbing subdivisions tend to restrict the land
market, this study would tend to repeal any subdivision legislation that may exist. However, should
there be valid reasons for government monitoring and control of subdivisions, the onus should be on
The National Lands Committee, in its 27 April 1994 comment to this report, maintains that such land use covenants are
essential and should even be fortified. Furthermore, lease renewal should not be automatic but instead based on fulfillment of
the covenants contained in the lease.
23 The MOL sees also the need for a provision enabling the land development fund. A strong case has not yet been made
why such a fund is needed versus funneling ground rents through the central government to be allocated along with other public
funds. See chapter 4 for further elaboration on the strengths and weaknesses of this proposal.
24 The Land Committee, in its comments to this report of 27 April 1994, proposes that the act be modified so that: the only
land to be repossessed is that required for public use or a national scheme; the lessee is served with adequate notice, at least
6 months; the compensation should be based on the current market value of the land; and the appeal should be with the Supreme
Court where it has not been resolved in the lower courts.