{"id":98446,"date":"2020-01-30T15:54:26","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T22:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=98446"},"modified":"2020-01-30T15:54:26","modified_gmt":"2020-01-30T22:54:26","slug":"the-mcc-committees-request-for-public-contribution-is-the-government-allergic-to-local-professional-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/01\/30\/the-mcc-committees-request-for-public-contribution-is-the-government-allergic-to-local-professional-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"The MCC Committee\u2019s request for public contribution —- Is the Government allergic to local professional advice?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By– Public Opinion Committee [POC]<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The most vital issue regarding the MCC: Should Sri Lanka privatise state lands under\u00a0 foreign laws?.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over\nthe past  4 decades   successive Government policy makers have\nmoved towards introducing land policies and land laws promoted in western\ncountries.  They keep ignoring our own institutions, laws and practices,\ntotally eroding them beyond recognition.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digitalising and formalising a country\u2019s land titling system\nis an extremely difficult task. Itis a minefield of practical difficulties,\ncomplicated bylegal culture,  social norms, institutional capabilities and\ncorruption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It appears the government has readily agreed with the MCC to\nensure coordination with the studies and designs made by other donors\n namely World Bank, USAID, US Embassy, and other US interests (Annex 1\np33).   Further it agrees that the availability of MCC funds for land\nprivatisation has to depend on the enactment of the Land Special Provision Act\n(LSPA), where the registration of absolute land grants must be completed\nthrough the title registration system, called the Bim Saviya<\/strong>, based on a\nforeign land law (Annex 1, p30). Annex 1, p28 also refers to Bim Saviya and the\npreparation of an e-register. This is the result of entering into several\nagreements that  have required us to legislate foreign laws relating to\nland, simply to enable us to accept foreign grants. \u2018All this for the sake of\nalleviating poverty\u2019, appears to be how we were pacified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No mention is made to consider the advice given by the legal\nfraternity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was the Bim Saviya\nintroduced under a new parliamentary procedure ?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one knows  \nwhen  laws are passed by parliament .No one was aware, of when and how,\nthe Act 21 of 1998 \u2013Bim Saviya came into operation.  Bim Saviya is an\n Australian law restricting access to court, repealing the Roman Dutch law\nand the Common law of our country  practiced for over 100 years.\n   Lawyers and  land owners are totally unaware of the\nimplications of this law .  The committee looking into the MCC may not be\naware of the economic burden created  by  this law .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is\nthe Committee aware of the economic burden and the legal ramifications\n of   Bim Saviya <\/strong> ? [The new law Assurance Fund in lieu of\njudicial remedies ] <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bim\nSaviya is a law where  ownership could be obtained by means of an invalid\n\/ forged document. Example if A \u2018s land is sold to B on a forged invalid\ntransfer  to B.   B\u2019s name once registered in the digital\nregister the law of Bim Saviya protects  the ownership of B. A\u2019s\nfundamental right to access court is repealed by the law of Bim Saviya. \nA\u2019s solution is to obtain compensation from the Government.   The\nGovernment therefore under the  Bim Saviya has to set up the statutory\nAssurance Fund   [ Act 21 of 1998 ] to compensate owners.   The\nGovernment must look around to see the  consequences of this law,  in\nother nations — — for example notwithstanding   UK\n\u2018s   stringent laws to prevent fraud compensation to owners \nover  the last 10 years had been  around \u00a355\nmillion under the Assurance Fund  Scheme<\/strong>\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can\nthe Government genuinely make this promise to the land owners ?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Sri\nLanka\u2019s vulnerability\u2014dependence on foreign funds and advisors  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The  successive\ngovernments have completely abdicated their responsibility, to, revise outdated\ncolonial land laws, promote legal education & research among Sri Lanka\u2019s\nacademics and legal fraternity.  Without commencing any  local\ninitiative, merely  permitted  entities like World Bank, USAID and US\nActors  to enter the country to introduce Bim Saviya and\ndigitalization.  We have moved on to digitalization commencing with advice\nfrom US interest.  For instance, this report prepared by the American Embassy\n Colombo \u2013 November 2011 https:\/\/photos.state.gov\/libraries\/sri-lanka\/577989\/pdf\/eLand%20Hub%20Project.pdf<\/a>  . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had already commenced\ncopying the names of owners from the old register   [  which was\nin operation without any revision since 1864 ] to the new Digital register\n,  when the  Registrar  General of Lands claimed  that 50%\nof  entries  in the old register were   forged. \n  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The names of owners are\n determined by a  non judicial process for the first time in Sri\nLanka ; entrusted to the administration.  Land owners names are\n exposed with  their  ID numbers and addresses, without\n the international laws to protect owners in a  Digital world  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is\nit  not oxymoronic that to alleviate poverty we create  poverty ?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npromise to make  poverty history for the past 60 years with foreign aid\nand advice  had been a failed effort  in many jurisdictions . The\n judiciaries of many countries<\/strong> are faced with challenges;  \nfor which they have given a new legal term  \u2018 BIJURAL EFFECT\u2019<\/strong> .\nThere is ample literature on the  subject —<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 1]<\/strong>Malaysia\nhttps:\/\/www.thestar.com.my\/opinion\/letters\/2007\/12\/23\/at-the-mercy-of-land-scams<\/a>  .  A  former member\nof the Malaysian Bar Council<\/strong>   states  \u2018Title\nregistration\u2019 [ Bim Saviya]  is a  law   which has wreaked\nhavoc in land transactions and increased the number of land scams in the last\n 9 years[ Boonsom Boonyanit case the Torrens system,\ninnocent landowners who are victims of fraudsters and scam artists cannot\nexpect to find justice in the law.]       <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 ]<\/strong>Singapore Article –. Whither\nTorrens  Title in  Singapore ?<\/strong> Written by Barry C CROWN ;\nAssociate Professor, Faculty of Law, National University of\nSingapore    Torrens system was designed to solve problems\n in South Australia in 1858 Will this law be relevant to us today in the\n21st<\/sup> century  \u2018 \u2018   https:\/\/journalsonline.academypublishing.org.sg\/Journals\/Singapore-Academy-of-Law-Journal-Special-Issue\/e-Archive\/ctl\/eFirstSALPDFJournalView\/mid\/513\/ArticleId\/375\/Citation\/Jo<\/a>   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 3]England –UK \u2013The helpless Judiciary<\/strong> , orders recovery of damage for land fraud\nfrom    lawyers<\/strong> \n  https:\/\/hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk\/2017\/02\/06\/recovering-indemnity-payments\/<\/a>  Can the lawyers practice\nwith such economic burdens    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4] <\/strong>Although Sri Lanka has  commenced with\nBim Saviya ,   USA itself has  not considered the law in many\nstates,  they are considering whether  governments\nwould be equipped  to finance  the system. https:\/\/open.mitchellhamline.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=2264&context=wmlr<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has the\nUS and UN telescoped  into One  Entity? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After signing the MCC , the implementation of Bim\nSaviya and digitalsiation will be assigned to a Primary Agent of the\nGovernment<\/strong>  called the    MCA Sri  Lanka Ltd \naccording to Annex 1 page 34 of MCC. The agent <\/strong>shall have operational\nlegal independence and full decision making autonomy with or without\nconsultation.  The agent  becomes responsible for exercising the Sri\nLanka Government\u2019s rights and obligations to oversee, manage the Bim Saviya and\nthe digitlistaion project in the Targeted Districts .  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The   Government waives all\nclaims   for all loss, damage, injury or death arising out of\nactivities or omissions of the agent  section 6.8  of the MCC –will\nhave complete legal immunity for all its actions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do we consider the \nMCC as a  UN organisation,  giving them the privileges and immunities\nenjoyed by representatives of the Members of the UN and officials of the\nOrganisations  As  only representatives of the Members of the United\nNations and officials of the Organization under UN rules \nenjoy   privileges and immunities as are necessary for the\nindependent exercise of their functions  https:\/\/legal.un.org\/avl\/ha\/cpiun-cpisa\/cpiun-cpisa.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps this is a\nprecautionary measure as Bim Saviya erodes   our  institutions,\nlaws and judicial practices. Diplomatic\nImmunity will protects the MCC and the MCC Sri Lanka  from fraud charges\nand the inevitable consequences to the  legal process where \n lawyers and judges  will be  programed  to accept  cut and paste laws from\nforeign  countries.    \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government claims  to have funds to\ncomplete Bim Saviya <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government  whilst  limping along for\n12 years , wasting funds on a failed project  has promised  to\ncomplete the balance 35 land registries and complete 9.5 Million parcels of\nland less  100000  undertaken by the MCC in 10 land registries .\nThe  MCC   document  also  refer to the  Government\u2019s\npoor  performance for 12 years relating to Bim Saviya  completing\nonly  600,000 parcels  from 2007 to 2019, costing nearly 2.5 Million\nper year  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can the Government genuinely make this promise?\n[  MCC No, Section 2.6 (Government resources budget \u2013 page 6 of MCC &\nAnnex 1-34).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could\nsomeone give a road map of how foreign funds and  foreign laws could\nalleviate poverty<\/strong>  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any one who had taken\na  loan from a bank will know that if you are poor and is unable to\nproduce evidence of wealth banks will not grant loans!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Privatisation of\nland rights require a land law system that could be understood by the local\npeople, if it is to alleviate poverty.  This is the reason that countries\nthat were successful with digitalisation, spent over 12 years to train\nacademics and staff to enter into the  revolutionary process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Can the poor\nfunction with 12 digit number given to them in lieu of their\ndeeds.?   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can they manage\ntransactions on a digital register with the 12 digit number. ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am sure even the\naffluent land owners are not aware of the revolutionary changes. The advice to\ninitiate research programs and to disseminate knowledge was given in the\n World Bank report in  in 2007<\/p>\n\n\n\n

. http:\/\/documents.worldbank.org\/curated\/en\/418081468781158319\/pdf\/multi0page.pdf<\/a>.http:\/\/documents.worldbank.org\/curated\/en\/750021530107195459\/pdf\/Improving-the-Quality-of-Land-Administration-in-Sri-Lanka-19-June-2017-final-draft-clean.<\/a>\n]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After neglecting the\nrequired process  given in the above reports  for over 12 \nyears,  to embark on further  radical changes with MCC funds will be\na grave mistake.  The changes will result in destroying  our paper deeds, destroying  all\nhistorical records of our land ownership; owners will be reduced to a paperless\ndeed environment and our current land ownership will be confined to a digital\nnumber toxic with corruption reflected in the manual register. Perhaps we will\nnot have   professionals well equipped to handle the foreign systems\nnor will we have  the  intellectual property rights to manage\nthe   electronic operations in land registries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope the committee will advice the\nGovernment to be intellectually independent.  Reference must be made to\nthe  advice given in the 2007 World Bank Report and the\n  Economic Commission for Europe -Geneva Land Administration\nGuidelines with  Special Reference to countries such as Sri Lanka. Their\nadvice is for countries to build their own systems according to their  own\nsocial, economic and cultural environments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

http:\/\/www.unece.org\/fileadmin\/DAM\/hlm\/documents\/Publications\/land.administration.guidelines.e.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By– Public Opinion Committee [POC] The most vital issue regarding the MCC: Should Sri Lanka privatise state lands under\u00a0 foreign laws?.\u00a0 Over the past  4 decades   successive Government policy makers have moved towards introducing land policies and land laws promoted in western countries.  They keep ignoring our own institutions, laws and practices, totally eroding them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[162],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sri-lanka-study-circle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98446\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}