Reform at the Lands Department

Cordel Hyde

Land reform has been on the agenda for the Briceño administration since taking office in November 2020.  Long described as a hotbed of corruption, the Lands Department has had a bad rap for the corruption that takes place at that office.  Earlier today, the Minister of Natural Resources commented on the changes that are being made under his watch.

Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources

“One of the situations, one of the conditions that create that kind of corruption is really when the process moves too slow, when it takes so long for ordinary people to get their leases or their purchase approvals or their title, that incentivizes persons to offer to pay public officers.  So the challenge on us is to remove the conditions to focus on expediting that process and that is what these clinics are about, coming to people, coming to communities and bringing the entire ministry to the communities to try to make sure that people get their land papers.  Now the challenge for us is how do we transfer this same energy, this same compassion, this same empathy, this same desire to help people to all our offices all over the country, so that ultimately, ordinary people will get their papers in the shortest possible time and ultimately no one will feel like they have to go and bribe anybody to get their papers because really, that’s wrong on both fronts.  It’s wrong on anybody who goes to offer money and it’s wrong on the public officers to accept that money.”