Accused yesterday of stymieing the appointment of Deputy Registrar of the Deeds Registry Zanna Frank, Attorney General (AG) Basil Williams declined comment saying he would need to be properly briefed on the allegations being made.
PPP/C Member of Parliament Anil Nandlall made the claim yesterday, accusing Williams of discriminating against Frank.
According to the former attorney general, on May 4, Frank was on appointed to the post of Deputy Registrar by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), in keeping with the provisions of Article 199 (1) and (3) of the Guyana Constitution.
“This appointment was made after an application was received to fill that position and an interview duly conducted by members of the JSC on the 22nd of March, 2016,” Nandlall said in a statement to the press.
He explained that “Frank’s qualifications include a Certificate in Industrial and Social Science; a Diploma in Public Management; a Bachelor of Laws Degree; and a Legal Education Certificate.”
Article 199 grants the JSC the power to make appointments to several offices including that of Deputy Registrar.
Nandlall alleged that when Frank reported to the Registrar of Deeds to take up her position as Deputy Registrar on May 9, she was informed by the Registrar that she would be unable to begin working because the Attorney-General had to formally introduce her to the staff. That introduction has still not occurred.
According to Nandlall, the AG has instead employed a “series of machinations to prevent the officer from performing the functions of her office,” including instructions that Frank should not be placed on the payroll as a result of which she is yet to receive any salary.
The matter was allegedly further compounded when the Registrar of Deeds proceeded on annual leave at the end of July and someone other than Frank was appointed by the AG to act as Deputy Registrar.
The Registry staff, according to Nandlall, have been instructed by Williams that this person must perform the functions of the Registrar of Deeds in her absence and not the appointee of the Judicial Service Commission.
The former AG maintains that these “actions of the Attorney-General consist of a naked usurpation of the functions of the JSC and a gross violation of the Constitution.
“Not only does it undermine the independence of an important constitutional institution, but it interferes with the functional autonomy of a statutory body corporate, the Deeds and Commercial Registry, which is managed by a Board of Directors in accordance with the provisions of the Deeds and Commercial Registry Act. This trampling upon the Constitution and violation of the rule of law comes from the State’s functionary whose responsibility is to advise the Government to comply with Constitution and uphold the rule of law.”
Williams has said that he will respond at a later time.
