A legal dispute has arisen over the appointment of Ms Rosalie Robertson as Registrar of Lands following the sending off on leave of the previous holder of the position, Ms Juliet Sattaur.
The dispute revolves around Section 7 (1) of the Land Registry Act Cap 5:02 which reads as follows: “There shall be a Registrar of Lands and a Deputy Registrar of Lands who shall be the persons for the time being holding the Offices of Registrar of Deeds and Deputy Registrar of Deeds respectively.” There are various views on whether the words ‘for the time being’ require an amendment to the law to permit the appointment of a Registrar other than the Registrar of Deeds or whether they lose applicability on the appointment of a new Land Registrar.
While legal minds will continue to argue the points on both sides, there is an even more important consideration. The previous PPP/C government had become notorious for the poorest standard of governance in many sectors and particularly in relation to appointments to senior public sector positions. There were many of these including that of the now sacked Chairman of GuySuCo, Dr Rajendra Singh.
By virtue of the long tenure by the PPP/C in office, the public has clamoured for a sea change in the quality of governance and this had been fervently promised by APNU+AFC while on the campaign trail and after entering office. It has so far not lived up to expectations in terms of appointments to state boards. The appointments reflect no ethnic, gender and political balance. Further, the appointments were made in ad hoc fashion. No government official has since explicated how the coalition engaged within itself or with the wider society in mustering these names.
In addition, questions of merit will arise along with the age-old malady in the public sector of whether this is simply a case of jobs for the boys. Several appointments in the public sector raise concerns about suitability and relevance. After being out of public service in the rice sector for many years, Mr Claude Housty was named as Chairman of the Guyana Rice Development Board at a time when the sector faces grave jeopardy from the imminent loss of the large lucrative oil barter market in Venezuela. The public will over time be able to judge his efforts although on July 27th when given the opportunity to address the national rice conference he did not impress the gathering with his suggestion that rice in substantial quantities can be sold to Mexico, Canada and Brazil.
Bearing all of this in mind, how did the APNU+AFC government come up with Ms Robertson’s name? Ms Robertson may undoubtedly be qualified for appointment to the post of Registrar of Lands but that is not the question at this stage. The primary issue that has dogged the 100-day old administration is that a section of its governing coalition, the PNCR, is aggressively asserting itself and promoting certain candidates without any identifiable basis for this and to the exclusion of all others, including worth civil society persons.
Did the government consult the stakeholders in the legal sector – the Guyana Bar Association and the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers on Ms Robertson’s appointment? Did it contemplate advertising the position? Did it contemplate that this is really an appointment that should properly be made via the Public Service Commission? It is quite acceptable for ministers to appoint their own advisors, public relations personnel and photographers. It is an entirely different proposition for a new government pledging a departure from opaque governance to monopolize the appointing of a person to an important public position as that of Registrar of Lands. The public is entitled to an explanation from the government on this appointment and on its policy towards filling such vacancies.
