The Ministry's Finance and Administration Department is responsible for the smooth running of the Ministry. It comprises seven sections: Finance, Information and Communication, General Administration, Information Technology, Legal Service, Deeds Registry and Births and Deaths Registry.
Deeds Registry
The Deeds Registry was established to maintain an efficient system of registration of rights to land to afford security of title; act as a ready reference to any registered title deed; and to keep the entire national records pertaining to land (property) rights in safe custody. Under the Constitution of Lesotho there is no ownership of land as is clearly outlined in Chapter IX, section 107, Land Vested in Basotho Nation :
“Without prejudice to any allocation of land or any grant of any interest or right in or over land ….. all land in Lesotho is vested in the Basotho Nation.”
Registration of rights to land, therefore, does not accord anybody a right of ownership but merely confers a right to occupy and use the land and its resources without undue interference. land belongs to the Basotho nation collectively and as such cannot be privately owned.
Mission Statement
The Deeds Registry is the custodian of national records pertaining to registered rights and titles to land. As the custodian of these records, the Deeds Registry supplies information to other Government departments dealing with land related matters and others as the case may be. It also makes available to Courts of Law, law firms, banks and the public; those records pertaining to registered titles to land. The office further proves the authenticity of such records.
Functions of the Deeds Registry
The Deeds Registry's functions include the following:
a) To examine all deeds or other documents submitted for execution or registration, and after examination, execute or register them as by law permitted, such as:
(i) Registration of grants, leases, sub-leases and cessions of immovable property; including amendments, renewals and cancellations thereof;
(ii) Registration of mortgage bonds of immovable property; including amendments, cessions and cancellations thereof;
(iii) Registration of notarial bonds of movable property; including amendments, cessions and cancellations thereof;
(iv) Registration of servitudes, and recording of modifications and extinctions thereof;
(v) Registration of Powers of Attorney;
(vi) Registration of Partnership Agreements;
(vii) Registration of Antenuptial Contracts;
(vii) Keeping registers of all registered deeds as ready reference of registered titles to land.
(b) To take charge of and preserve all the records of the Deeds Registry in a document processing system that will provide an effective storage and retrieval system thus ensuring maximum safety and security of such documents.
(c) To collect revenue for the Government in the form of Stamp Duties, Transfer Duty, Registration Fee and Search Fees. |
