It appears that the Lands Department is regressing. By virtue of a Statutory Instrument dated December 4, 2020 entitled National Lands (Mode of Payment) Regulations, 2020, the department has discontinued the receipt of payment for lands through financial institutions including banks. It is a very simple S.I and reads as follows:
(1) Any payment towards the purchase of national land or payment of rent for a lease of national land shall be made to the cashier in the ministry responsible for lands.
(2) A payment made in any manner contrary to subregulation (1) shall not be honoured as payment towards purchase of national land or payment of rent for a lease of national land, as the case may be.
(3) These regulations shall come into force on the 4th day of December, 2020.
At face value, the SI appears to be a regressive one because in the past the Ministry would accept payment for land transactions at banking institutions who would then credit the ministry’s accounts. The discontinuing of this practice raises a number of concerns, primarily that it will make financial transactions with the ministry much more cumbersome as payments will only be allowed at the lands department’s cashier. It also raises a grave security concern as the department will now be handling much more cash transactions and given the state of crime it exposes the cashiers at the department to greater risk. It also exposes the department to theft where cashiers would be handling more money and the possibility of those monies not being properly accounted for.
