THE Ministry of Business is expected to play a role in the Deeds Registry, even as Attorney General (AG) Basil Williams has declared that the work of the registry has improved tremendously and will continue to improve.This observation was made following a tour of the Registry yesterday by the AG, where he got a chance to interact with staffers and get acquainted with the operations of the statutory body.
According to AG Williams, “The deeds registry plays an important part in the delivery of justice, as it deals with mortgages, leases, business transactions, companies registration, trade union registration and so forth.”
He alluded to the fact that, thanks to the advancement in technology, they have digitalised systems which have reduced substantially, the delays in providing services; however, they still have a long way to go.
This registry, he noted, makes in excess of $1B in revenue, but unfortunately it goes into the Consolidated Fund, and is not there really to fund the department, as it was removed by the previous Government as a Government department and made a statutory body.
“There are currently two registries, this and the commercial registry, which will be at the NBS building, and that will have a registrar…there are still some vacancies to fill, but he is confident that the work of the registry has improved tremendously and will continue to improve, as they have to also fill a vacancy in the Chairman of the Board of Directors,” he said.
The composition of the board is determined by the Act and has representation from various Government bodies. “We all knew that we have problems, and a lot of money was spent, and currently we are on a path to making the delivery of the services provided by this statutory body something efficient.”