Clean Up Lands Commission

With due respect to the hardworking and honest staff of the Lands Commission, it is regrettable that the negative conduct of the bad nuts within the fold of the state agency has created such an unenviable image for all of them.

So bad is the image of the Commission that some think falsification of documents at the place is an easy thing to do with cash.

We have in spite of the foregone observed the efforts of the management of the Commission to change the narrative. Achieving results under the circumstances is a Herculean task and takes time, especially when the negative lens is an entrenched feature       of an agency such as the Lands Commission.

Our lead story in yesterday's issue of this paper speaks volumes about the deals going on at the Commission, the diligence and deliberate efforts by management and honest public servants to alter the direction of operations there  notwithstanding.

So much money stolen by a few persons and creating such a bad image for the Commission is not something which should be allowed any longer.

Yesterday, during a press conference, a visibly distressed management announced a swift action against some staff identified as suspects in tampering with software created for the payment of fees for services at the Commission.

We commend the swiftness with which the subject has been tackled and add that more action be taken against persons who continue to drag the name of this important entity in the mud.

Continuous and sincere auditing of the procedures at the Commission will, we believe, unearth the bad nuts who are still within the fold.

In a digitised ambience which is what the Commission is being built into, it won't be long before such criminals are identified, named and sanctioned.

Management should strive to rid the Commission of the trends which have earned for the entity the smelly image over the years.

The complaints unit of the Commission should be made to work hand-in-hand with IT savvy law enforcement personnel as a means of identifying the unscrupulous activities going on.

We believe that with the needed cooperation from the public, the Commission could be on a path of shedding the bad features it is wearing currently.

Victims of the acts of malfeasance should be bold to contact management about their tribulations. Not doing so but complaining behind the scene will not help in addressing the negative occurrences.

We also call upon management to avail itself of technology of which there are various facets to reduce the incidence of criminality at the Commission.

Technology has gone far these days and can do things such as exposing criminalities, feats which a few years were unheard-of.

We expect the interdiction of the suspects to lead to the identification of their accomplices.

Land acquisition and documentation should not be such scary ventures any longer in this country. Yes, we can let that happen when we join hands with the germane agencies.