Philipsburg:--- The Ombudsman of St. Maarten Nilda Arduin-Lynch delivered the first systemic report she conducted on the operations of the Cadastre's office on Thursday to the Minister of VROMI William Marlin. Based on the report and its recommendations, the Minister has four weeks to take appropriate measures to rectify the malfunctions at the country's public registry. If the Minister of VROMI fails to take action within the period of time suggested in the report then the Ombudsman will move to Parliament with her findings. A copy of the official report was also delivered to the director of the Cadastre's office.Arduin-Lynch told reporters at a press conference held Thursday afternoon that the investigation began since December 2010 but it took a long time to compile because the director of the Cadastre's office was not cooperating with her. Lynch said she initiated the investigation when she saw two transcripts that were issued on December 14th and 15th 2010 with discrepancies and also based on statements the director of the Cadastre's office made to the media. During the indepth investigation, meetings were held with notaries and the Ombudsman discovered that there were discrepancies in the fees charged by the Cadastre's office.
Arduin-Lynch said the report is available for everyone to peruse but persons that would like to have a personal copy can request it at her office and a small fee will be charged for the document.
Arduin- Lynch said during her investigation she did a lot of research on the laws and also worked with the Cadastre's office in the Netherlands who was assisting St. Maarten's Cadastre's office with the implementation of a new system.
When asked by reporters which of the two transcripts that were issued on December 14th and 15th 2010 were correct, Arduin-Lynch said she is not the competent person to say that but based on her comparison with the deed and the transcripts it appears as though the one issued on December 15th 2010 was the correct one.
The Ombudsman was also trying to determine if everyone on St. Maarten can access the public registry on a public holiday to obtain documents. December 15th was a public holiday and Director of the Cadastre's office made certain changes to the transcript issued on December 14th and gave it to an editor of a newspaper. These transcripts are for the long lease land issued to former Minister of Heath Maria Buncamper Molanus.
Furthermore, she said that her office received several complaints from members of the public regarding their information and the treatment they receive at the Cadastre's office and so far it appears as though people's information is being compromised. The Ombudsman said people as well as banks and other entities must be able to rely on the documents issued by the Cadastre's office because the documents are used to obtain loans while investments are made based on the information they get on their properties. Ombudsman Nilda Arduin-Lynch was the former chairman of the board of the Cadastre's office and she made clear that the investigation conducted was not to get at anyone but instead it is to make corrections to what is done wrong while protecting people's information.
