Registration division moves to more spacious offices |30 September 2013

The registration division which deals with registering all land and business transactions, will move to new offices on the first floor of Independence House as from today.

The aim of the move is to provide a more effective and quicker service to its increasing number of clients and to have more space for both staff and people requiring the service.

“The registration division has existed since late 19th century but the current office at Kingsgate Travel Centre was set up around the first month of 1978. So it has been quite some years since we are here,” said Leslie Lucas, the Registrar General of the division.

He noted that at that time the office was quite suitable for the number of clients using its services and the number of staff delivering them.

“There were not that many documents and businesses that the division had to deal with as is the case now,” he said.

Mr Boniface said there are two main reasons for the move. “Due to the sudden increase of businesses and land transactions here in Seychelles where people need registration services, there was a need for an increase in staff numbers and more available space for the division to deliver a better and prompt service.  And as lots of people come here for related research of various land or business documents, there was also not enough space to offer them such services in a conducive environment,” said Mr Boniface.

 He noted that the division has more than 80,000 files on record.

Therefore, the relocation will permit the registration division to employ more staff and offer a quicker service.
 
“For example, if we are talking about land transfer it now takes you 30 days to complete your document after you’ve lodged it with us. Of course this creates pressure from all sides, so there is a need to cut down on the amount of time this process takes,” he said. So moving into the new location we can employ more staff and deliver a quicker service.

“We cannot continue with this length of time we are taking to register businesses. For example, a foreign investor cannot afford to stay here for 30 days while his documents are being processed. So with a better and quicker service we will sort of complement the government’s efforts to bring and encourage foreign investors here and at the same time create a conducive environment for their transaction,” said Mr Boniface.

Even if they will be operating in a new location, Mr Boniface said the fees and charges will remain the same.
 
“We are in the process of negotiating with the government to consider raising certain charges which no longer reflect today’s realities. But on the other hand, we have other charges that are quite exorbitant which we are also negotiating for reduction,” added Mr Boniface.

He gave as example the cost of a copy of a lease agreement registered here which costs R50 per 15 lines. Imagine the cost of a thick agreement!
The registrar general also referred to mobile storage system, a new feature which will be available in the new location. “Presently we have at least 250 file cabinets for registered files. Therefore no more space for more. The new mobile storage system will store all the current files and will cater for future ones,” said Mr Boniface.

Another quite important project the registration division is to undertake is the restoration of its old documents as there are some that date back more than 100 years. They succumb to wear and tear especially when clients leaf through them during their research. The division is seeking the help of a consultant for this venture.