GOVERNMENT has appointed Mr. Andrew Bishop as head of a committee that will be tasked with the drafting of a national land use coordination policy.

This announcement was made by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, at a news conference on Wednesday.

The HPS explained that the aim of the initiative, which was approved by Cabinet, is to avoid conflicts that arise from time to time.

He said that often, surface and sub-surface rights overlap in areas pre-disposing to conflicts among leased and other land rights holders. As such, this issue was deliberated on by the Presidential Commission on Competitiveness.

“The stakeholders under the competitiveness rubric presented President Donald Ramotar with a recommendation at the Presidential Commission, which was adopted by Government and has led to the formation of the committee to draft the land use coordination policy,” Dr. Luncheon said.

The Committee that will be headed by Bishop will report directly to Office of the President.

Bishop holds degrees in Geography and Planning from York University and the University of Waterloo.

He worked as a Senior Planner in the Department of Land Use Planning in San Diego, and is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners.

He also held the position as Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission as well as the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys of Guyana with responsibility for public land management, land policy and national land planning.

More recently, he has been actively involved in the climate change arena, having been appointed as special advisor to the President and lead climate change negotiator.