Robert Boekhold has officially been appointed as Interim Mortgage Custodian and Acting Director of Kadaster. On Thursday July 26, Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Finance Wilgo Lieveld handed Boekhold the Ministerial Decree. Boekhold is a Land Surveyor and has worked for Kadaster office for over 24 years. He will immediately take up his post and work with the support of former and retired Mortgage Custodian
Boekhold was officially sworn as the Mortgage Custodian by his Excellency Mr. Reynold Groeneveldt Acting Governor for St. Maarten at 10:00am on July 26. As well as being the Interim Mortgage Custodian, Boekhold is also the Acting Director of the Kadaster which allows him to sign “Meetbrieven” for St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius.
Boekhold studied Kadastral Engineering and Law in The Netherlands. He has worked for the Kadaster Office in St. Maarten for over 24 years as a Land Surveyor and also provides technical Kadastral support services for the islands of Saba and St. Eustatius. A release issued by the Finance Ministry on Thursday explained the process that preceded Boekhold’s appointment.
The initial intent to appoint an acting Mortgage Custodian could not be finalized once it was determined that the law did not make provisions for an acting Mortgage Custodian. At that point, the Supervisory Board of the Kadaster and Mortgage Custodian Registry led by its chairman Louis Crastell Gumbs recommended Boekhold to the Finance Minister as the Mortgage Custodian for three (3) months which may be extended if the need arises.
Boekholdt’s appointment could not be finalized earlier since he as the candidate for the position required a Certificate of Good Conduct pursuant to Article 16 of the National Ordinance on the judicial documentation and on the certificates of good conduct. Once the judicial background check by local authorities was completed with no objections, the certificate of good conduct was issued.
With these procedures executed Finance Minister Geerlings was able to finalize a workable solution and appoint a Mortgage Custodian.
While Boekhold will hold the position in the Interim, the recruitment drive, for a permanent Mortgage Custodian, which started over a month ago, will be extended to include Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, Saba, St. Eustatius and The Netherlands. The Ministry of Finance is committed to ensuring that the necessary steps are taken to avoid a repeat of the challenge faced by the notaries on St. Maarten, whose work depends heavily on the Kadaster’s Office and the Mortgage Custodian in particular for the execution of deeds.