Authorities demarcate property for local landowners on the outskirts of Phnom Penh in 2023. FB
Minister of Interior Sar Sokha has urged all capital and provincial governors to collaborate and assist town and district administrations in executing systemic land registration effectively and in accordance with the plan of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction.
The comments were made in a letter dated March 5, addressed to all governors nationwide.
The letter stated that the first phase of the government’s Pentagonal Strategy encompasses land and urban reforms, including the development of land policies and inclusive land cataloguing. As a result, the land management ministry has assigned a high priority to land documentation for all citizens.
“To date, land registration working groups in the capital and provinces have been carrying out the land management administration sub-sector’s role in formally and clearly registering ownership and rights of real estate. This has been undertaken to prevent and resolve land disputes. The objective of this registration is to bolster the security of land ownership and enhance trust,” read the letter.
It added that in order to promote efficiency and success in the registration process as envisaged, the interior ministry instructed all capital-provincial governors to facilitate and support the town and district administrations in their coordination with the land registration working groups.
It said the groups consist of heads from land management departments at the village, town and district levels.
Interior ministry spokesperson Touch Sokhak stated on March 6 that the sub-national authorities had not ignored the letter nor had they failed to cooperate with the land management ministry, clarifying that it was merely an administrative letter.
“In principle, historically, currently and going forward, the sub-national authorities have always been engaged in these tasks, collaborating with the land management ministry. Their role involves coordinating administrative and legal procedures to facilitate land ownership through both systemic and individual land registration,” he explained.
Sokhak added that in this seventh government mandate, the land management ministry has prioritised land registration. In this endeavour, both the interior and land management ministries have worked in collaboration.
He said the interior ministry has empowered sub-national level administrations, including those at the capital-provincial-town-district levels to oversee and coordinate the task.
Preah Sihanouk provincial deputy governor Long Dimanche has also embarked on coordinated land filing for residents in five towns and districts within the coastal province: Sihanoukville, Koh Rong town and the districts of Prey Nop, Kampong Seila and Stung Hav.
He noted that the initiative was scheduled to be completed by mid-2024.
“Once we have completed a thorough registration of land, we will have a scientifically accurate approach to land management. As a result, managing plots becomes easier and reduces the incidence of disputes. In the past, there were issues with overlapping ownership, leading to situations where certain individuals claimed the same land as their own,” he added.
