More land surveyors will be beneficial

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The Prime Minister, speaking at a title handing-over ceremony in Old Harbour, St Catherine, spoke of a need for “more trained land surveyors” in Jamaica. We, the members of the 92-year-old Land Surveyors Association of Jamaica (LSAJ) agree with him in principle – that it is always timely and beneficial to continue the refinement of the processes and functions of the profession to ensure its continued development and sustainability.

Land surveying by its very nature is a highly specialised discipline. Surveyors also operate within a very exacting legislative framework and are required to navigate over a century of disparate, largely analogue, pre-existing land records in the provision of their services. These and several other factors require expert care, time and cost, which seem to have bred notions that the profession is resistive to progressive changes and ‘disruptions’.

However, any objective assessment of our local land surveying landscape would quickly dispel these fallacies and highlight an increasingly youthful profession, that has participated in and encouraged material advancements and evolutions in land administration and the wider built environment. The LSAJ has also presented regular continuing education seminars to ensure that its members in the private sector and government organisations are appropriately trained to utilise this instrumentation, to realise the benefits of building our national cadastre by meeting the requirements promulgated in the Land Surveyors (Amendment) Regulations, 2013.

Successive efforts have attempted to force a revolution in land registration. In these, surveying and surveying professionals are repeatedly misidentified as prohibitions. An unfortunate reality is that there have been clear attempts to conceptualise and enact these changes at the exclusion of the LSAJ, despite our consistent willingness to contribute our time and knowledge to the efforts.

Surveying professionals are the most aware of the required changes to make our operations more efficient and accessible; are also most knowledgeable about the technologies that are appropriate and applicable to move the needle in solving Jamaica’s land registration deficits.

Surveyors embrace change and tirelessly work towards the public good and the development of the nation through our services; however, we are also intimately aware of the parameters within which we operate, and have the foresight to see the consequences of changes steps in advance. Consistent and meaningful engagement of our professionals is the path to realising the improvements we need as a country.

TIMOTHY THWAITES

Commissioned Land Surveyor

Vice-President, LSAJ