Councillors found guilty of selling state lands to be charged – AG

Government lands owned by towns and communities cannot be sold or rented by the Mayor and Town Councils or the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) according to Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall.
During his weekly ‘Issues in the News’ programme on Tuesday evening, he noted that persons found guilty of such practices – both buyer and seller – will be charged as the matters are being reported to the police.
“The sale is contrary to statute, it is illegal, so those who are purporting to sell really cannot sell therefore they are receiving money under false pretense, it is fraud and the buyers are also participants in the crime so they will also be implicated,” he explained.
Once the matter is called before the courts, the buyer will lose monies paid for the state lands while the seller will be made to provide the sums he collected leading to both parties losing, Nandlall said.
The Local Authority Areas (LAAs) which includes NDCs and municipalities are governed by the Ministry of Local Government.
According to Nandlall, some of the LAAs have been selling lands to the Councillors and others within the areas. He noted that letters were sent to them from the Ministry of Local Government but the issue persists.
“NDCs have no power to rent or sell lands within their NDCs – state lands, government lands, public lands, reserved lands, within their NDCS without the consent or permission of their Minister. These persons are elected to the NDCs, nobody elected them to sell public property” he emphasised. Nandlall said the state lands are reserved for future use by the communities.
Further, where the laws seem unclear, he noted that they will be amended.
There are currently nine municipalities and close to 60 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils across the country. The Councillors leading these elected bodies are elected at the Local Government Elections which was last conducted in 2023.