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Nat’l Assembly approves legislation to overhaul Deeds Registry
– will reduce delays in processing transports, business registrations
By Leonard Gildarie
A critical bill that aims to reduce the delays at the Deeds Registry with the processing of transports, mortgages and registering a business was unanimously given a safe passage in the National Assembly on Thursday evening.
It was one of the several pieces of legislation that was approved on a day when the 10th Parliament seemed almost a home boys club, after a year of tension and standoffs in the House.
Government on Thursday successfully piloted a bill to overhaul the Deeds Registry and reduce delays at the government agency.
The passage of the Deeds Registry (Amendment) Bill 2012, will also address the problems of maintaining an accurate, up-to-date record of ownership and transfers of lands, and see the establishment of a semi-autonomous agency to reduce the bureaucracy, Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, told the National Assembly, shortly before the Opposition gave its blessings.
Government will now be moving to establish the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authorities which will have the mandate to improve the Deeds and Commercial Registry and establish the conditions governing the employment of offices and employees.
According to Nandlall, the current system at the Deeds Registry makes it impossible for an efficient running of what is considered one of the most critical government agencies.
There have been stories of files going missing, investors waiting for lengthy periods for processing and a host of other complaints. The Private Sector Commission has been calling for a revamp for awhile now.
In addition to processing of land transports, the Deeds Registry is charged with handling of mortgages, Powers of Attorney, deed polls, incorporation of companies and registration of trademarks and patents, and trade unions.
In 2011 alone, the Deeds Registry conducted in excess of 40,000 transactions, including more than 11,000 bills of sales, 5,000-plus business names and almost 11,000 powers of attorney.
“Needless to say, the volume of transactions, the current system and institution do not provide for the speedy and efficient delivery of services to the stakeholders,” the Attorney General said.
Drawing a parallel of the volume of work at the registry, he said that in 1990, around 4,000 conveyances were handled. This doubled by 2011. “The number of transactions in the last 20 years has doubled.”
Attorney General, Anil Nandlall
A governing board will include representatives of the Guyana Bar Association, the Private Sector, the Guyana Association of Legal Professionals, Registrar of Deeds and Commerce and from the Ministries of Housing and Finance.
Nandlall disclosed that the authority will fund itself from the fees and duties collected to cover operational costs, improvements and staffing.
The new arrangement, when it is signed into law by President Donald Ramotar, will allow for separate registries to be created…a Deeds Registry and a Commercial Registry. The authority will also have the powers to establish offices in the various regions.
Significantly, the authority will only be able to keep all the monies it earns from fees, charges, duties, taxes and fines, but will have to remit the balance to the government’s Consolidated Fund, after discounting operational and other expenses.
According to the AG, the bill is critical as the Deeds Registry is custodian to years of records…from as far back as the 1800s. Some of the documents are so old that they are falling apart. A move is underway to have the records digitized.
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