President weighs in on appointment of Deputy Registrar of Deeds

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams recently raised concerns regarding the appointment of Zanna Frank as the Deputy Registrar of Deeds, suggesting that the power of the Judicial Service Commission to solely appoint persons to this position be revised.

President David Granger today said the matter has not yet engaged cabinet.

“As you know in most western jurisdictions there is a line between the judiciary, which is one line and the executive which is another branch…what the attorney general has pointed to is the fact that there is a blurring of the line between the judicial branch and the executive branch,” President Granger said.

The President speaking during the recording of his weekly programme, “The Public Interest” opted not to comment on the arguments advanced regarding the appointment of  Frank as the Deputy Registrar of Deeds, a matter which has seen opposing views by the past and present attorneys general, Anil Nandlall and Basil Williams.

According to Williams, Frank is not duly qualified for the post since she has less than two years experience and the vacancy specified three years, noting too that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), by appointing her has breached the requirements it had set for the post.

He also alleged that Frank is being used as a “pawn” and “sacrificial lamb” to stymie the progress made by the Commercial and Deeds Registries, an allegation that Nandlall is questioning.

However, Nandlall is contending that according to the law, it is only the JSC that has the power to determine who is duly suited for the position and its decision should be final, suggesting that Frank may also be overly qualified for the position.

The President agreed that it is only up to the JSC to examine the criteria which have been laid, pointing to the fact that there is no mechanism to prevent the appointment if it is indeed flawed.

He said “when the attorney general brings the matter to the cabinet if it requires a change in the law and we feel that is a more efficient way of governing the country we will proceed in that direction. Right now I don’t want to comment on the appointment of Miss Frank and the arguments that have been advanced by the former attorney general and the present one.”