UK companies to improve lands and surveys management

Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) has engaged the services of Ordnance Survey International (OSI) and Trimble Incorporated, two companies from the UK, to improve its land management efficiency, through the transfer of technology.

According to a media release from the Ministry of the Presidency (MotP), Minister of State, Joe Harmon yesterday received a courtesy call at the Ministry, from Peter Hedlund, Managing Director of OSI, Malcolm Havercroft, Director of Operations of OSI, Jill Urban-Karr, Executive Director of Trimble and Trevor Benn, Commissioner of GLSC.

Harmon, according to the MotP statement, said that the government welcomes the collaboration and looks forward to a long term relationship with the two firms which specialize in land management and mapping.

“The quality of mapping in this country leaves a lot to be desired. Land is scarce and limited resource. We have all these pressures on the land, where several communities are looking to establish protected areas; challenges as far as mining and extractive industries are concerned, agriculture and of course human settlement,” Harmon was quoted in the release, as observing.

OSI’s Managing Director, Peter Hedlund said that his company is willing and ready to offer its expertise to the Commission, and was even more heartened by the willingness and eagerness of the government’s response.

“It is a programme for four years and we are looking to see how best we can transfer knowledge. We stand ready to assist … but real benefits comes to a nation that has modern, up to date information,” Hedlund was quoted in the MotP bulletin, as noting.

GLSC Commissioner Trevor Benn, according to the media release, said that the partnership was born out of a recent overseas conference he attended. At present, there are a lot of backlogs in the GLSC system, particularly in the lease management system, which can benefit from the firms’ expertise, and Benn hopes that the collaboration will also generate revenue which can improve the organisation’s services.