Background

The National Land Agency (NLA) is an Executive Agency that falls under the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.
 
The Context: An Agency supporting national development

The establishment of the NLA is the result of the Public Sector Modernisation Programme of the Government of Jamaica. It brings together the core land information functions of Government under one roof, and includes: Land Titles; Surveys & Mapping; Land Valuation & Estate (Crown Land) Management. This merger enables the Government to build on the synergy of these combined functions and create a modern national land (spatial) information system to support sustainable development.

It is recognized that more timely information about Jamaica's geography is critical for decision makers in both the public and private sectors. The traditional services that the Agency provides, such as land registration, is one of the corner stones for development, in that most investment decisions for both small and large enterprises, are linked to land titling. A simple example is, the requirement for most business loans to be registered against a Registered Title. Titling also extends into the social fabric of civil society with the Government's initiative to provide land to the less fortunate so that they may improve the quality of life for their families.

The Focus: Improving Service

One of the objectives of the Public Sector Modernisation Programme is to improve the level of service to the public. The NLA is committed to achieving this requirement through:

Business process improvements: streamlining such matters as the titling of land and reducing the time it takes to secure a title;

Computerisation and On-line Access: by automating many functions of the agency and providing ‘on-line’ services to clients across the Island;

One-Stop-Shopping: by providing ‘single window’ access to all services which the Agency provides;

Regionalisation: by providing citizens with access to the NLA's services in all regions of the Island;

Spatial Information Infrastructure: which is a new information technology initiative to enable all government agencies, local government, and private sector organisations to share land and marine related data through an ‘on-line’ network.

Commitment to Clients

The NLA is committed to being a client-focussed organisation. The organisation will therefore consult on a regular basis with its stakeholders to continually improve and expand the Agency’s service offering.

The Benefits

Improvements in service will require an investment by the Government to modernise the Agency's infrastructure, particularly information technology and training for staff. The payback will be:
Better decision making in the public and private sectors;
Accelerated development by reducing red tape and approval delays;
Increased revenue through new and improved products and services.

Staff Development

The Agency is committed to staff development and to providing a work environment in which people can excel in their work. The Agency will recruit the best people for the job and nurture its staff's career development through training and other educational pursuits.