UNECE Discusses the Benefits of E-Government Reforms to Land Administration in Belarus
Geneva, 11 June 2010 --
Overall, the implementation of e-government reforms can improve the delivery of government services and result in lower operating costs, increased revenue for fiscal authorities, improved transparency in property transactions and reduced opportunities for fraud. These and other benefits of the digitalization of land and real estate information were recently discussed during a workshop on “Real property cadastre and registration services in the Economic Commission for Europe region: the impact of e-government” reforms”, held in Minsk, Belarus, on 8 and 9 June 2010, which was organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Working Party on Land Administration and hosted by the State Committee on Property of Belarus.
At the workshop, representatives of Belarus highlighted that, between 2003 and 2008, the number of registered land units in the country had increased from 100,000 to 1.1 million units annually.
A unified system of state registration for rights and transactions relating to real property had been set up in 2003, and much-needed e-government applications for property registration had been available to individual consumers since 2006. Those reforms had greatly facilitated the process of property registration, a representative explained.
Other speakers during the workshop discussed the importance of holding up the principles of uniformity, compatibility, trustworthiness and transparency in data management to ensure better integration of information resources and the successful implementation of the “one-stop-shop” mechanism for real property registration. Discussions also focused on the analysis of issues pertaining to the process of immovable property formation and the functions and goals of address registries to improve land administration in the UNECE region.
The workshop took place as e-government reforms in Belarus were being implemented to improve the integration of all national information services.
Over the past decades, many countries in the UNECE region have successfully converted their land registration and real property records from large collections of paper documents into a computerized form. To be used effectively, these instruments require appropriate legislation and a well-extended network of information technology, encompassing all regional administrations within member States. At the core is the need for information held in any locality to be compatible and interoperable with the broader national system. While many countries in the UNECE region have already successfully set up e-government technologies in land administration, others are only at the beginning stages; discrepancies also exist between countries in the allocation of responsibilities among Government authorities at the national, regional and local levels, which calls for enhanced international cooperation and for sharing experience. UNECE, through its Working Party on Land Administration, is working with its member States to ensure effective and efficient implementation of these new technologies in the area of land and real estate.
For further information, please contact:
Ariel Ivanier
Secretary to the Working Party on Land Administration
UNECE Environment, Housing and Land Management Division
Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 1357
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org/hlm/welcome.html
Ref: ECE/ENV/10/P17