Government has approved the release of K1.6 million to settle outstanding payments of the LAGIS Enhancement and Application Program (LEaP) and for the systems upgrade.
Lands Minister Justin Tkatchenko presented the cheque to Technology 1, the firm responsible for the installation and upgrade.
The payment will ensure the company completes the installation and upgrade of the system, which they believe will weed out many issues within the Lands Department.
Presenting the cheque to Technology 1, Minister Tkatchenko thanked the Government for approving the release of the funding to ensure the system is up and running.
He said the system was crucial for the department to get rid of many of its issues, such as the illegal issuing of titles and double titles.
“Just like what IPA has done already where you can do company search and find out every body’s details of companies, that’s the end result for our public and wouldn’t that be fantastic,” Tkatchenko said.
“And what that does, it stops all the corruption and all the duplicate titles. And all those who are corrupt in this department will say we can’t make any money anymore and hopefully they will leave.”
Darin Gordon from Technology 1 said the system will have a major impact on the economy as there will be more security on the land, giving confidence to the business community.
“This is a fantastic program for the country. It’s going to bring a lot of stability, a lot of confidence to everybody as far as knowing where the land titles are, who owns them.
“It will help the banks be confident with the lending of money. It will make the whole economy of the country stable again,” Gordon said.
Tkatchenko advised Department staff involved in the LEaP program to begin preparing so that Technology 1 can immediately start work.
The LEaP Program is expected to be fully completed by mid next year for the Land and Geographic Information System (LAGIS), which was initiated in 2008, to be fully operational.
(From left: Darin Gordon from Technology 1, Lands Minister Justin Tkatchenko and acting Lands secretary, Oswald Tolopa)