THE EDITOR, Sir:
IN AN effort to satisfy public concern, I wish to respond to your Letter of the Day published in The Gleaner of Monday, September 27, 2005. I must first take this opportunity to apologise to the Hon. Roy Barrett for my delay in formally responding to his letter dated July 26, 2005. I am happy that of three applications he made, two were already satisfied, prior to his letter to me and to The Gleaner.
The Registrar General's Department on a daily basis encounters challenges satisfying applications for customers when any of or all the following circumstances prevail:
1) An entry number is not provided for the specific application (an entry number is a combination of letters and numbers assigned to every birth and death record, the number is used as an index for locating the record and in some circumstances as proof of registration).
2) The information provided as the details of the vital event is incorrect or inconclusive.
3) The contact information provided by the customer has proven to be incorrect or not the most accessible means of contacting the customer.
4) Non-payment of all the relevant fees to cover the cost of the service, especially when applications are sent to us by mail.
As previously discussed with Custos Barrett, in his particular case three of these circumstances existed. His initial application was sent to us using registered mail; however, the fee sent was insufficient to cover the cost of the applications which were enclosed. Additionally, the cost for the service which it resulted that we had to provide to him in order to satisfy his (this specific death certificate) application was significantly in excess of the payment received by the RGD. This was because the entry number was not provided and, therefore, an electronic search and a form search (manual search of records 10 years before and 10 years after) needed to be conducted. This search would incur an additional fee, separate from the cost of the certificate.
The electronic tracking system gave evidence that staff at the RGD made several attempts to contact him at the telephone numbers provided to inform him that the fees sent were insufficient. We wish to thank him for having provided a cellular number on which we may now contact him.
Notably, the system indicated that there were a total of 57 interactions by staff members with his application. Usually there is only a maximum of seven such interactions or steps to satisfy an application. This is an indication that efforts were being made to satisfy him.
As indicated in a letter to him, we have in the interest of satisfying his request prepared the certificate, but it will be necessary for him to visit the Western Regional Office at 22 1/2 Humber Avenue in Montego Bay and make payment of the additional fees, to cover the cost.
We also want to use this opportunity to seek your assistance in educating our fellow Jamaicans on the various processes involved in making an application, and the importance of providing accurate and complete information, especially the correct entry number. This is particularly important since over 70 per cent of our complaints relate to requests for death certificates.
I am, etc.,
PATRICIA HOLNESS (DR.) J.P.
Chief Executive Officer
Registrar General and Deputy Keeper of the Records
