By Gina Bethel

Copyright znsbahamas

Government House was the setting for a historic celebration on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, honouring the Land Reform Committee, a body personally appointed by Prime Minister Philip Davis. Theevent, attended by senior officials, legal practitioners, and business leaders, marked the committee’s crucial role in advancing the Land Adjudication Act, 2025 and the Registered Land Act, 2025.

Delivering welcome remarks, Permanent Secretary Cecilia Strachan underscored how rare the committee’s success was in the context of government history.

“Many committees are appointed during the lifetime of each administration, and many of them fail to produce an effective report,” she said. “On the flip side, when extensive, thorough reports are produced, much time and energy are expended only to have that report sit on a shelf for the next decade.”She stressed that this was not the case with the Land Reform Committee. “The committee has completed and presented its work. That work has led to the passage of the Land Adjudication Act 2025 and the Registered Land Act 2025, and action is being taken to implement the objectives of both. You can all be proud of what has been accomplished as this moment is literally decades in the making.”

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Senator the Hon. L. Ryan Pinder, KC, praised the dedication of the Land Reform Committee, calling their work one of the most significant legislative accomplishments in decades.

“The passage of the Land Adjudication Act and the Registered Land Act are major pieces of legislation for this administration. When enacted, they are going to transform our society, our economy, and they mark a critical step towards the modernizing of land conveyancing and the securing of land tenure in theCommonwealth of The Bahamas,” Pinder said.

He emphasized that, for the first time, Bahamians will enjoy a government-backed guarantee of clear title. “Under a system of registered land, all parcels will be clearly identified and all information related to those parcels will be recorded on a public register. The accuracy of the register will be guaranteed by the Government of The Bahamas. If your parcel is on the register, the title is guaranteed to be good.That is a tremendous accomplishment.”

Committee Co-Chair, Sharlyn Smith, a managing partner at the distinguished law firm Sharon Wilson & Co., who the attorney general described as being a capable co-chair and close confidant, drew upon the words of our beloved national anthem to mark the committee’s success.

“The introduction of a system of land registration in The Bahamas is a manifestation of pressing onward, marching together to a common loftier goal, the goal being resolution of issues undermining land ownership and the way land is dealt with, generally, in The Bahamas.

Smith went on to state that: “There is documentary evidence that every administration in The Bahamas over the last 60 years has recognized the need for land reform. Furthermore, “Identified and secure property rights unlock capital and value, especially for the indigent.

This has been demonstrated worldwide and is beyond dispute. Considering the significance of land reform to the continued growth and development of The Bahamas, this committee worked tirelessly to ensure this bill made it through the legislative process and became law.”

Her Excellency the Most Hon. Dame Cynthia Pratt joined Attorney General Pinder in presenting certificates and awards to the committee members. Those honoured included: Sharlyn Smith (Co-Chair), Dame Anita Allen (Commissioner, Law Reform and Revision Commission), Camille Gomez-Jones (Registrar, Bahamas Intellectual Property Office), Shunda Strachan (Director of Taxation, Department of Inland Revenue), Stephanie Onwala (attorney, Onwala & Co.), Dana Wells (attorney, Graham Thompson & Co.), Alistair Chisnall (attorney, Graham Thompson & Co.), Sasha Wallace-Whitfield (representing her motherChristine Wallace-Whitfield), Nikki Finlayson-Smith (past president, Bahamas Real Estate Association), Lamysha Cox (attorney, Securities Commission), and Petrocelli Edwards (Acting Stipendiary Magistrate).

Special recognition was also given to members off-island: The Hon. Leon Lundy (Co-Chair), Cresswell Sturrup (Permanent Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister), Jerome Fitzgerald (Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Prime Minister), Brian Bynoe (Surveyor General, Department of Lands and Surveys), and Kimberly Smith-Rolle (attorney, McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes).

The committee, appointed in 2022, was tasked with tackling one of the most persistent and complex challenges facing the country: creating a modern framework for land ownership and registration. For decades, unclear titles, incomplete records, and overlapping claims had fuelled disputes and slowedinvestment. The two Acts are designed to address those problems head-on.

The Land Adjudication Act provides for the systematic investigation and settlement of land ownership across the country, creating certainty where disputes have lingered for generations. The Registered Land Act establishes a centralized, accessible system for recording title, ensuring that ownership is transparent, secure, and backed by the force of law. Together, the reforms are expected to make landtransactions faster, more reliable, and less costly, while strengthening property rights and boosting investor confidence.