New Commercial and Deeds Registry Board appointed

Last Updated on Thursday, 25 May 2017, 23:12 by Denis Chabrol

The Guyana government has appointed a Governing Board of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority, but its full constitution will await the parliamentary approval of the law.

“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 Parliament. The Board will be fully constituted after the Bill is passed in the National Assembly,” the Ministry of the Presidency said in a statement.

The approval of the Board was made by Cabinet at its Tuesday, May 23, 2017 meeting. The Governing Board of the Deeds and Commercial Registries Authority will be Chaired by Ms. Christine M^C Gowan. Ms. Zanna Frank will serve as the Deputy Registrar of Deeds and Ms. Nicole Prince, acting Registrar of Commercial Registry.

The board will serve for a period of two years from June 15, 2017 to June 14, 2019.

Other members of the Board are Ms. Gillian Pollard of the Ministry of Finance, Ms. Aretha Henry of the Ministry of Communities, Ms. Sharon Small of the Guyana Bar Association, Mr. Kumar Dorasami of the Guyana Association of Legal Professionals, Major General (ret’d) Norman McLean of the Private Sector Commission, along with representatives of the Ministry of Business, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Chief Valuation Officer, Julian Barrington.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr. Basil Williams said that the Government recognised that the board needed to be broadened to include other entities including the Ministry of Business and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The Deeds and Commercial Registry is an independent body, which was established in 2013, to promote the efficient and orderly operation of the Deeds Registry and the Commercial Registry. It also established a Governing Board, which ensures the proper and efficient performance of the functions of the Authority.