2019-02-12
As Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze stated in his speech at today's presentation of the land registration reform's interim report, more than 600,000 citizens have registered lands since August 2016.
According to the Head of Government, every difficulty related to land registration has been eliminated, with procedures simplified and obstacles for owners removed.
"Besides ensuring against unregistered plots in the country, the land registration reform also seeks to protect property rights. With that in mind, the reform introduces new standards for better protecting the rights of proprietors. Today, our population is offered free services. Once again, I urge every citizen to use actively these simplified procedures," Mamuka Bakhtadze said.
According to the Prime Minister, more than 600,000 applications have been processed through simplified procedures from August 1, 2016 to February 2019, amounting to over 300,000 hectares of plots registered under the reform.
"Importantly, all this involves modern technology. In 2017, Georgia became the first country to launch the revolutionary blockchain technology in the public sector, namely in public services. And the land registration reform is the pilot project to employ blockchains, which reaffirms the crucial importance of innovative technology in our reforms. A blockchain means that it is virtually impossible to erase, alter, override, or use data illegally, which ensures the highest standard of data protection," Mamuka Bakhtadze emphasized.
The land registration reform, the Head of Government said, is an export-bound reform in that Georgia can share this and similar experiences with other countries.
"I am often asked, by our international partners among them, which reform we see as export-bound, because many countries are eager to share our experience in implementing successful reforms. Of course, the land registration reform is one of the first listed by me, and I am convinced it will only become more successful over time," Mamuka Bakhtadze stated.
The Prime Minister thanked everyone engaged in this process and working hard to contribute to the success of the land registration reform, such as the staff of the Public Registries, the National Archives, the Notary Chamber, and the National Bureau of Enforcement, along with the Justice Ministry, without whose efforts the reform would not be as successful.
"Of course, gaps remain, and they must be corrected. Some of our citizens have yet to register their historical properties, so we need to carry out more active campaigns. Once again, I urge each citizen to be actively involved in this reform. Today, we have high statistics in application submission, five times the numbers prior to the reform, which is indicative of the high dynamic of our reform. The Justice Ministry, in cooperation with other Ministries, will carry out an active campaign to improve the engagement rate in order to ensure the reform's successful completion," Mamuka Bakhtadze underlined.
At the event's conclusion, the Justice Minister awarded employees who have made a special contribution to the success of the land registration reform.
The presentation of the land registration reform's interim report was attended by members of the Georgian Government and the diplomatic corps.
Prime Minister's Press Office