REGISTRAR OF Titles Alfred McPherson has been sacked.
Mr. McPherson, who was in July 2003, appointed Director of Titles, with responsibility as the Registrar of Titles, was dismissed on Wednesday. He was on a three-year contract.
In the meantime, Sophia Williams, the legal applications/Senior Deputy Registrar of Titles, is acting as the registrar.
It is understood that on Wednesday Mr. McPherson was handed a letter of dismissal from the Land and Environment Ministry, but he refused to honour its contents.
According to reports, Mr. McPherson only heeded yesterday, when he received confirmation from the Office of the Governor-General.
Contacted yesterday, Land and Environment Minister Dean Peart said it was decided to relieve Mr. McPherson of the post, as he had not been efficient.
TURNAROUND TIME UNREALISED
"We expected to have been able to work with Mr. McPherson at improving the situation at the land registry, but this did not work as well as we had expected," Mr. Peart said. He said the desired improvement in turnaround time for the processing of land titles had not been realised.
But some members of the legal fraternity are expressing surprise at Mr. McPherson's dismissal. One prominent attorney-at-law, who requested anonymity, told The Gleaner there were issues between the Office of the Registrar of Titles and the Office of the Commissioner of Lands.
Up to yesterday evening the Commissioner of Lands could not be reached for comment on the matter.
Attorney-at-law Herbert Grant has been engaging the services of the Registrar of Titles since 1971. He said that, for numerous years, the processing of titles has been slow, but that this could have been the result of several factors, including the rate of attrition from the office.
The Jamaican Bar Association has been calling for the Office of the Registrar of Titles to be made an independent body instead of being a part of the National Land Agency.
Recent improvements at Titles Registrar
* System of computerised standard forms on the NLA website.
* Establishment of electronic accounts to facilitate search for information on titles.
