By NICO SCAVELLA
Tribune Staff Reporter
nscavella@tribunemedia.net
A PROMINENT businessman and a local attorney have called for the government to implement a Public Resource Management System to replace the "impotent" Public Accounts Committee, the need for which he attributed to the government having demonstrated a "flagrant disregard for the rule of law" with regards to land registry in the country.
Paul Moss and Halson Moultrie yesterday said the "number of questionable transactions which have been allowed to take place under the watch of the government clearly points to the need for greater fiscal responsibility and an increased level of accountability," the like of which they said could only be achieved through the implementation of a Public Resource Management System.
In a joint statement yesterday, the men claimed that the Controller of Inland Revenue is "stamping documents" and "issuing hand written receipts," which Mr Moss claims is in contravention of the Stamp Act of 1925, which states that only the Treasurer of The Bahamas is permitted perform those functions.
However, they said the matter raises additional concerns, the most important of which he said is "the existence of what appears to be a parallel system of revenue collection where on hand funds are being collected by the controller and in separate matters being collected by the treasurer."
"It also has the effect of rendering any document stamped by him ultra vires, or in other words non effective," their statement said. "As a result, those documents cannot under the law, be processed by the Registrar General’s department. This in turn has serious repercussions for individuals looking to register land titles, exposes the government to potential law suits and further, shows the Bahamas as not being serious about international business.
"The government must take immediate steps to reverse this practice by amending the current Stamp Act to provide for the Controller of Inland Revenue to legally stamp documents and collect the corresponding funds. The law is clear, and should be adhered to."
The statement added: "The number of questionable transactions which have been allowed to take place under the watch of the government clearly points to the need for greater fiscal responsibility and an increased level of accountability. This can only be achieved through the implementation of a Public Resource Management System which should replace the impotent Public Accounts Committee.
"Under the new regulatory framework, Bahamians would be guaranteed the independent and integrity driven oversight in the management of public resources. This new framework should be accompanied by a viable Freedom of Information Act which, in the long and short term, prevent public funds from being diverted and fraudulently used."
Last year, Tribune Business reported that the creation of a land registry system in the Bahamas could take up to 10 years or more to be fully implemented, with a leading attorney stating that such a system would not only speed up but reduce the cost associated with the conveyance of real estate in the country.
Andrew O’Brien, a partner in the Glinton, Sweeting and O’Brien law firm, said that the government should take a phased-in approach when introducing the concept in the Bahamas.
Tribune Business also reported that addressing the issue of land registration is considered a critical issue for the Bahamas’ international competitiveness, with the nation regularly ranked close to the bottom of the widely-followed World Bank’s Doing Business report on the issue of ease of registering property.
Comments
duppyVAT 9 years ago
This is why we need an independent Office of the Ombudsman ................ we have some constitutional checks and balances but they are compromised by the fraternity of crooked politicians ............ PAC, Auditor General, Annual Budget Debate, Commission of Inquiry, Select Committees etc are all subject to political collusion
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