NLA’s already onboard the e-train
Dear Editor,
The National Land Agency (NLA) takes note of your letter ‘Time to hop aboard the NFT train’ published on Friday, February 4, 2022, which makes mention of the oversight and legislative framework of the Registration of Titles Act and the Registration (Strata Titles) Act.
The letter made reference to the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in executing the delegated functions of the NLA as prescribed under the said Acts.
The NLA is pleased to advise that work has commenced since 2018 on our e-titling project for the agency’s Land Titles Division. Through e-titling, all the application processes for obtaining a registered certificate of title would be done electronically, thereby improving processing times and synergies between the NLA, partnering government entities (Stamp Office, et al), attorneys, and applicants.
Benefits of e-titling include, but are not limited to:
*elimination of paper titles
*reduction of storage requirements and costs
*improvement in process efficiency, which leads to the reduction of processing time
*increase in processing capacity (annual title output)
*improvement in data accuracy (reflected in a reduced error rate and a reduced application rejection rate)
*reduction in number of new certificate of titles transactions (for example, lost title applications)
*improvement in the accessibility and preservation of essential records
*improvement in disaster protection/mitigation
The agency has held several rounds of consultations with stakeholders, and is currently working on the relevant submissions needed for amendments to the Registration of Titles (Amendment) Act 2020 and accompanying pieces of legislation, which will provide the legal framework for electronic titles in Jamaica.
Jamaica is currently ranked 72nd, according to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report 2020. With the implementation of the NLA’s e-titling, not only will this increase Jamaica’s ranking, but it will also make Jamaica the first in the Caribbean to implement such a modern titling system.
Implementing this system will also act in furtherance of the agency’s mission, which is to ensure that Jamaica has an efficient and transparent land titling system that guarantees security of tenure, a basic infrastructure on which to build a modern spatial information system designed to support sustainable development and to guarantee the optimal use of government-owned lands.
National Land Agency
Marketing & Public Relations Unit
asknla@nla.gov.jm
