APNU/AFC land transactions reek of criminality – Finance Minister

…as Govt gets to bottom of land giveaways

The current Government is still getting to the bottom of the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) government’s giveaway of state land, but one thing is for certain: the transactions seen thus far reek of criminality.
This was explained by Senior Minister in the Office of the President, with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh. In an interview with this publication, he noted that some of the former Government’s worst transgressions with state resources can be seen in the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).

“We have seen, whether it is NICIL or another vehicle, we have seen a number of transactions that suggest the most outrageous violations of transparency; essentially, what would best be described as a complete free-for-all. Complete giveaway of land. The most astonishing set of circumstances. For example, the transferral of land without any level of scrutiny or tendering.
“In fact, even more astonishing, the transferral of land without even payment of a cent. So, in the first instance, what our technical teams have been doing is trying to get to the bottom of these transactions, which suggests outright criminality.”
He noted that, in the short term, Government will have to identify these dubious transactions and take corrective action. In the longer term, however, the strategy for the agency will be developed moving forward.
“I think we need, first of all, to take comprehensive stock of what exists in relation to these transactions: what remedial actions are needed to address the perversity we’ve observed in these transactions, and then I think that will determine how we go forward,” Dr. Singh said.
Upon entering office in August, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government had found a slew of questionable transactions engaged in by the former Government following the No Confidence Motion (NCM) back in December, 2018.

For instance, it has been revealed that the former APNU/AFC Government vested almost 100 acres of prime State land at Ogle, East Coast Demerara (ECD) to eight different companies. All told, the total value of the lands is some $2.9 billion, but NICIL received only approximately $64 million in payments.
NICIL has also taken flak for the leasing of several plots of land at Peter’s Hall by two companies, A-Z Pharmaceuticals headed by Eddie Doolal, and Life 1 Pharms Incorporated headed by Avalon Jagnanan. These lands were leased and then flipped for a profit.
Of interest, too, is the fact that in both lease agreements, a clause was deliberately modified to state that “the lessee may divest the land, may part with possession, may assign it to a third-party interest”.
However, Guyana’s State Lands Act stipulates that whenever State lands are leased, the lease agreement must indicate that the lessee “shall not” part with lands (possession) or “shall not” assign the interest in the said agreement without the consent of the State.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) has also been in the news for the questionable transactions it conducted under the former Government, which resulted in certificates of titles being issued to persons for lands sold below market value.