The authorities
are finalising the drafting of regulations that will outlaw the illegal sale,
occupation, surveying and construction on urban State land without
authorisation from a new Government agency set to manage such land.
Parallel
development, a system that allowed developers to settle homeseekers on land
before the installation of basic services infrastructure such as sewer systems
and roads, will also be scrapped.
While meant to
speed up access to housing, the policy opened the door to abuse by land barons
and unregistered developers, who settled people on land that remained
unserviced for years.
This, in turn,
fuelled the proliferation of irregular settlements across urban centres. The
new measures are contained in the Urban State Land Management Guidelines that
were released recently by the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works.
“Selling and
occupation of unplanned and unserviced land shall be criminalised,” the policy
document states.
“A statutory
instrument shall be promulgated to criminalise illegal sale, occupation,
planning, survey and construction on urban State land without authority of the
Urban State Land Office.
“Anyone in
violation of the provisions of the statutory instrument shall be guilty of an
offence liable to prosecution. A developer shall be issued a certificate to
sell upon obtaining a certificate of compliance and which the general public
may demand to see the certificates to authenticate the transactions.”
For nearly two
decades, the illegal occupation and parcelling out of State land — often
through fraudulent allocations by land barons — has led to chaotic settlements
without proper services, putting pressure on local authorities and undermining
urban planning.
The new
guidelines are designed to reverse that trend.
The policy also
formally ends parallel development, which was introduced around the turn of the
millennium.
Going forward,
all housing schemes must be fully serviced and connected to off-site
infrastructure before residents are settled.
Responsibility
for off-site infrastructure will fall on local authorities and the central
Government.
“In this
instance, all (housing) schemes are to be serviced fully and be connected to
off-site infrastructure,” adds the guidelines.
“Local
authorities and national Government shall be responsible for the off-site
infrastructure.
“All local
authorities shall ensure all developments within their boundaries are in
accordance with approved layout plans, the operative master and local
development plans.
“All local
authorities shall fully implement and enforce development control mechanisms on
all land under their jurisdiction, in liaison with the Department of Spatial
Planning and Development.”
To improve
coordination, the guidelines provide for the establishment of an office of
urban State land management within the Ministry of Local Government.
The office will
be staffed with professionals in legal affairs, estates management, planning,
GIS (geographic information system), surveying and administration.
It will also
coordinate with other Government departments and local authorities.
The new office,
together with councils, will also be required to maintain transparent waiting
lists for land allocation — one for residential stands and another for
industrial, institutional and commercial stands.
“The waiting
lists should be kept in the format prescribed in Form UL10,” the guidelines
state.
“Applicants
must pay a reasonable application fee reflective of prevailing socio-economic
conditions, but not so high as to be exclusionary. Lists must be updated
annually and open to the public for inspection. Renewal of applications will be
required annually to remain on the list.”
Allocations
will be strictly tied to the waiting list, with exceptions only allowed under
the authority of the permanent secretary, deputy minister, minister or through
a council resolution.
On criteria for
land allocation, the guidelines stipulate that priority for residential stands
will be given to first-time homeowners.
Applicants must
already be residents of the area, employed or operating a business within the
local authority’s jurisdiction and must demonstrate the capacity to develop the
stand. Sunday Mail
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