Land Minister addresses corruption
LAND Management Minister Chea Sophara on Thursday instructed cadastral officials throughout the country to ensure accurate measurements and avoid corruption when demarcating people’s land.
The instruction came after the ministry obtained sophisticated equipment using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology.
During a workshop on the new technolog y at the ministry on Thursday, Sophara said cadastral officials are obliged to measure land for people in a transparent manner without favour.
He sa id of f icia ls need to st a r t dema rc at i ng la nd i n each dist r ict usi ng t he new tech nolog y a nd t hen i nser t t he dat a i nto t he gover nment’s database system.
“We have used new technology to update our works. With the new equipment, we need to be transparent. Some officials, for example, measure a10ha plot but they want 0.5ha for personal gain, so they insert just the other half into the database system. That’s not good.
“I know all of you are aware of that. If I don’t bring this up, you may continue to use this technology in a wrong way for personal gain when measuring land for the people,” he said.
Affiliated Network for Social A c c o u n t a b i l i t y e x e c u t i v e director Sorn Chey said corruption involved in land measurement is deep-rooted.
He said the ministry should also solve long-running land disputes and take action against powerful individuals and tycoons who violate stateowned property, such as beaches, lakes, and other protected areas.
“Some of f icia ls t r y to get money f rom people when t hey measure t hei r la nd. It has become the norm. What [the minister] said is good but he should a lso solve land dispute s i nvol v i ng power f u l indiv idua ls and government of f icia ls,” he said.
Preah Sihanouk provincial land management department director Cheng Srong could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
T h e l a nd d e ma r c a t i on project wi l l sta r t f rom nex t year until 2020, or 2021 at t he latest.
The ministry expects to register more than seven million land plots. So far it has reached 68 per cent of the target.