Recently enacted legislation provides new rules on the composition of the Public Lands Commission.
The Public Lands (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2023, which was passed in the latest sitting of Parliament, replaces Section 6 of the Public Lands Act (2020 Revision).
Lands Minister Juliana O’Connor Connolly, on presenting the bill, said it seeks to rectify the composition of the commission, as well as the voting rights and term limits of members.
The minister said the former act limited the terms of members to two years “and in the small pool of available persons it makes it difficult to find competent persons”.
It also only stated that one of the six district members should be the chairperson “and as such that district is then deprived of a vote other than having a casting vote”.
Commission membership
The new Public Lands (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2023 explains that the commission should include a Caymanian chairperson and six other Caymanian members of the public.
Among them should be one person from each of the districts – West Bay, George Town, Bodden Town, North Side, East End and Cayman Brac or Little Cayman, the law says.
Other members should include the director of the Lands and Survey Department or the director’s designate, and the chief officer of the Lands Ministry or the their designate.
And the chief officer of the Tourism Ministry or designate, the chief officer of the Commerce Ministry or designate, and the chief officer of the Planning Ministry or designate.
All civil servant members of the commission will be ex-officio members and will not have voting rights.
According to the law, the Cabinet should appoint the chairperson, deputy chairperson – from among the six Caymanian members of the public – and the other five members.
They will all hold the position for two years and are eligible for reappointment at the end of their terms.
The secretary will be a civil servant appointed by the chief officer of the relevant ministry.
The law was published on the government’s website on 6 Oct.
The Public Lands Commission is responsible for government policy on public land.
Among its duties are to regulate the use and enjoyment of public land by members of the public, and to protect the rights of access.
It also responds to complaints on the misuse of public land, issues permits for activities on the land, and advises the chief officer in the Lands Ministry on general enforcement policies.
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