29 Jun 2014

The Assistant Minister of Health, Dr Gloria Somolekae says government is in the process of establishing a land information centre.

Dr Somolekae said this during a Ntlo ya Dikgosi session when commenting on a motion from Kgosi Thabo Masunga of North East District region on June 26.

Kgosi Masunga had tabled a motion requesting the government to consider setting up an independent data bank facility for land boards to strengthen the integrity and security of record keeping.

The assistant minister said the centre would deposit and manage all land information from land boards in order to strengthen its integrity and security.

She said the establishment of the land information centre was being implemented as part of the Land Administration Processes Capacity and System (LAPCAS) project.

She said the objective was to improve land administration processes and systems in order to provide information and services required by society.

Dr Somolekae said one of the project components include national land registration, whose aim was to have correct information about land ownership, hence all plots would be surveyed and the information stored in a computerised system.

Debating the motion, Kgosi Moeti II said the data bank was inevitable because it would support the incorporation of all government departments’ data.

He said the bank would be helpful given that information would be accessible and secure from deterioration and manipulation.

Kgosi Moeti II further said with the data bank in place, it could help to store the ongoing land audit findings safely. Debating his motion, Kgosi Masunga said the land information centre should be independent.

He said some land board technical officers in his area had altered board meeting minutes, adding that some of them had been charged but decried that investigations were going at a snails pace regarding others who had been implicated. ENDS