Registrar sets record straight

Oct 12, 2012 Letters

Dear Editor,
In response to the article captioned “The Registrar got it all wrong” published on the 26th September, 2012 in the Kaieteur News I would like to state that I am not at all surprised at what Mr. Sohan Poonai wrote. He has to vindicate himself to his clients and to his brothers and sisters of the legal fraternity by asserting that I am wrong.
True, I am not an Attorney-at-Law, and never claimed to be one but I would like to remind him that according to the Land Registry Act, Chapter 5:02 an Attorney-at-Law is only required for the position of Commissioner of Title.
Anyone who is familiar with Orders of Court would know that the sentence “Dated the 6th August, 2012 means the date the order was made by the Judge and the next line “Entered the. 28th August, 2012 would be the date it implies. It doesn’t take an Attorney-at-Law to know that. Justice Insanally’s orders were made on 11th May, 2012 as stated in Poonai’s article but he omitted Justice Chang’s orders which were made on the 6th August, 2012. Further, in his first article, he said I was not represented but in his second one he admitted that I was indeed represented. Why would I not be represented? Land Registry is called upon to be in court and I complied with that request.
At Justice Insanally’s hearing it was told to her that a mutation, compliance and rates and taxes were needed for the matters and Mr. S. Poonai promised to remedy the said transfers. The next day after the first article was printed citing contempt charges against me, Mr.S. Poonai telephoned Land Registry and spoke to the person who represented me in court and received all the relevant queries made by me.
He said to go ahead with the other transfers, that he will take care of the mutation but our records did not show such entry. I called him back and on the third call he answered. I informed him that I cannot “go ahead”, that the other matters such as compliance and rates and taxes were outstanding. He said that he would take care of it.
I also reminded him that there was a caveat on one transfer which incidentally was that the person had passed away. She had placed a caveat which means that document stops me from proceeding with the said transfer and according to the Land Registry Act Section 125 (4) that caveat could only be removed by an Order of Court or by the Caveator and not by the Registrar as many lawyers believe.
He asked how to go about removing the caveat. I replied that he had to approach the court supplying the death certificate. I had the Registry Officer who represented me in court to listen in on the extension as I normally do when an Attorney-at-Law is being called on the telephone.
Land Registry was never informed of the court fixture before Chief Justice Chang. I was represented before Justice Insanally. Why wouldn’t I do the same for Chief Justice Chang. I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of. I never asserted that I would actually say that none of the transfers had powers of attorney and that I also said that I have documents for anyone wishing to see them. What were printed were the views of Kaieteur News. I can hear you say why didn’t I have it corrected. Well, everyone knows the answer to that.
It is not trite procedure for all relevant documents, compliance, rates and taxes etc to be lodged when transfers are filed with the Land Registry. I could give Mr Poonai a perfect example of one of his firm’s clients who visited the Land Registry on 24th September, 2012 and I personally gave him a copy of the transfer with the queries which included supplying company documents, consent from Lands & Surveys to transfer.
He says that it compulsory to lodge all relevant documents. Many transfers are filed incomplete but Land Registry never refused to accept them and these are put out of order until it is remedied.
All the lawyers know this. If they want to be honest they will agree with what I have said and I invite anyone wishing to peruse the said documents. I have nothing to hide.
To date a rates and taxes certificate has lodged and an application for a lost Grosse was filed. These two transfers have since been signed by me,
Land Registry is awaiting the documents for the other transfers to be lodged in order for them to be signed. Am I still wrong Mr. Poonai?
I have always said that I have no problem with people writing letters against me but they must contain the truth.
Juliet Sattaur
Registrar of Lands

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