Lands and Surveys suspends major services to gov’t, private sector

Last Updated on Friday, 3 April 2020, 10:03 by Writer

As the fear of the deadly coronavirus, COVID-19, spreads, the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) on Friday said it has suspended major aspects of its operations and would be rescheduling surveys.

“All access to the Commission’s survey database for private and government surveyors is suspended until further notice,” the semi-autonomous agency said.

The GLSC said all field inspections and survey services continue to be suspended until further notice. The GLSC said it would be rescheduling inspections and surveys at no additional cost, and urged clients to contact its offices to make new appointments.

“One such decision, is to limit the number of staff at our offices across the country. As a result, the Commission effective immediately, will be attending to clients between the hours of 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., from Monday – Friday until further notice.”

Appointments can made by phoning 226-6490, emailing info@glsc.gov.gy or messaging GLSC’s Facebook page: Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission. For information about the agency’s services, visit its website at: www.glsc.gov.gy.

The Commission said it was only conducting essential transactions at its offices but people must first make appointments to ensure the “smooth conduct” of such business. Essential transactions such as payment of rent for leases, access to plans and purchasing of maps, will be given priority.

As part of efforts to ensure the safety of its employees, customers and communities, the GLSC said its social distancing policy has seen the cancellation of meetings with large gatherings. “We have one simple objective that guides us: keeping you our clients and our employees safe. This has been at the center of our conversations every step of the way. With that in mind, we have made several decisions in response to the threat of the coronavirus,” the agency said.

GLSC says it has amped up cleaning services at all of their offices and have added hand sanitizers and hand washing areas at the front entrances and at all cash registers. Sanitizers and cleaning items have also been placed near workstations and counters so that employees can keep themselves and their immediate work area continuously cleaned.

“We are closely following the threat assessment protocols of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of Guyana (GoG) on the steps we can take to help prevent the spread of the virus. We have shared specific instructions with our employees on the importance of washing their hands and staying home if they feel sick or are returning from recent travel. As per GoG directives, we will ask employees who have traveled overseas or have been exposed to others who have traveled overseas to self-quarantine for 14 days,” the GLSC said.