Good strategy needed to clean rot at Lands

Corruption at the Lands ministry is legendary.

Every so often, any new minister coming in pledges to clear the mess but exits without much success. Some well-heeled individuals there have perfected the art of trickery and get their way.

For nearly a decade, the ministry has undergone reforms, including automation to create efficiencies and eliminate malpractices associated with the issuance of title deeds or transfer of properties.

Granted, progress has been made and land transactions made easier. However, fraud and other corrupt practices thrive.

As we reported in yesterday’s edition, mega fraudulent and dubious deals thrive at the ministry.

Officials working in cahoots with lawyers, criminal investigators, land brokers and cybercafé operators, run a major racket where they obtain the records of genuine landowners and alter and use them to sell such properties to unsuspecting prospectors.

At face value, such racketeering is perpetrated by clerical officers and other low-placed personnel.

But behind them are powerful and influential people high up in the system, who condone and facilitate the operations. Those frontliners are well-protected and survive every regime change.

Land is a valuable asset that every individual seeks to own.

Many people spend a lot of money in search of land to put up shelter, commercial structures or for agriculture. Vulnerability in search of land is very high.

This is why the con land dealers flourish. People easily fall prey to them.

Besides, the typical practice at any Lands office is to be asked for facilitation fees before receiving a service.

Even basic transactions such as transfer of title do not come easy; money has to change hands. Effectively, there are various transgressions at the ministry that require singular and focused attention.

It is not particularly difficult to identify the masterminds and their benefactors.

What is required is a carefully planned and coordinated operation that gets to the root of the problem.

This means moving beyond the typical showbiz the public is treated to — like closing lands registries, apparently to lock out fraudsters and digitise documents.

Clearing the fraud and malpractices at the ministry must be tactical and strategic.

Tactical to shake and demobilise the networks quickly, but strategic to make it long-term.

Also required is proper public communication to sensitise the citizens on the intricacies of land transactions and the likelihood for deception.

Concerted actions are urgently needed to create systems to lock out the crooks skimming off the sweat of helpless citizens.