Dear Editor,
In my letter to you, SN August 6 (‘Transactions at the Land Registry are in a state of paralysis’), I referred to the virtual paralysis in business at the Land Registry, following the decision to remove the incumbent Registrar by sending her off on “administrative leave”. It is clear that the elementary prescription in addressing the resultant problem is the urgent amendment to section 7 (i) of the Land Registry Act thereby giving the government the freedom to appoint as Registrar and Deputy some persons not being the Registrar of Deeds or Deputy Registrar of Deeds as the law now restrictively provides.
In the absence of any published decision on the status of Ms Sattaur, I ought to remind the government that to seek to reinstate her for any purpose or period without amendment to the Act would be a virtual adoption and continuation of her illegal appointment long complained of.
The government with such a formidable group of lawyers in the forefront of its management team ought to ensure that the Attorney General lay the urgently required amendment to the Land Registry Act before the National Assembly for immediate passage. They must be convinced that this unprecedented interruption in the business of so essential a department of government is totally unacceptable.
Moreso they should be assured that from brief consultation on the matter in hand with those knowledgeable on these matters they are likely to receive very helpful advice on the way forward.
Yours faithfully,
Leon O Rockcliffe
