Cabinet on Tuesday granted its approval for the appointment of the Governing Board of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority, the Ministry of the Presidency announced on Thursday.
The board, which is to be chaired by attorney Christine McGowan, is to serve for a period of two years from June 15, 2017 to June 14, 2019, the ministry said in a statement.
Other members of the board are Deputy Registrar of Deeds Zanna Frank; Registrar of Commercial Registry (ag) Nicole Prince; Gillian Pollard, of the Ministry of Finance; Aretha Henry, of the Ministry of Communities; Sharon Small, of the Guyana Bar Association; Kumar Dorasami, of the Guyana Association of Legal Professionals; Major General (ret’d) Norman McLean, of the Private Sector Commission; Chief Valuation Officer, Julian Barrington; and representatives of the Ministry of Business, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The statement noted that the previous board expired in May, 2016, and the delay in constituting the new one was as a result of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority (Amendment) Bill 2017 being laid before the National Assembly. The board will be fully constituted after the Bill is passed in the National Assembly, it added.
Attorney General Basil Williams was quoted as saying that the government recognised that the board needed to be broadened to include other entities, including the Ministry of Business and the GRA.
Justice Nareshwar Harnanan on April 19 had ordered Williams to appoint the board. Williams has appealed the ruling, contending that the judge erred by not attaching weight to the proposed amendment bill and by seeking to “dictate” to him (Williams) a timeline for the appointment of the board.
The judge’s ruling was based on an application by former AG Anil Nandlall for an order nisi of mandamus to compel Williams to appoint the board.
In his application to the court, Nandlall had noted that the previous board’s tenure expired on or about June, 2016, it was never re-appointed by the minister in accordance with the Act.
