Dear Editor,
Permit me to reply to a letter published in the Guyana Times dated April 26th entitled “Unconstitutional practices at the Kilcoy/Hampshire NDC”. It is ironical that the letter writer Neri Alli is talking about “shameful, unconstitutional acts”, “injustice” and “corrupt practices” at the Kilcoy/Hampshire NDC when these very acts can be attributed to the illegal processes through which she and her husband were given the said ‘lease’ at Tract MA Block 4, Plantation Kilcoy.
First and foremost, this lease application was never presented to the NDC for approval and even the notice of intended survey was never served on the NDC. Hence, the illegality of this process from the inception. The NDC only became aware of the occupation of this land in March 2016 when the ‘lessees’ commenced activities on the said plot of land. This was brought to the attention of the NDC by the residents of the area. The pertinent question here is: Why did this application and notice of survey never come to the attention of the NDC? The land belongs to the NDC and the application and notice of survey should have been approved by the NDC. This is shameful and unconstitutional! This is corruption!
Secondly, it is gross injustice to deprive the residents of the Kilcoy area the opportunity to acquire house lots in the said area when many of the young married couples with their children are living in congested and deplorable conditions with their parents. These are poor people who want to own their own homes. This is extreme greediness!
Thirdly, it was the residents who protested the occupation of the said land and it was they who brought it to the attention of the NDC. The residents never supported the project and many of them turned out to protest and it was only after my intervention that they were pacified. I promised to investigate the issue. Another section of the media on April 18, 2016 under the caption, “Corentyne residents protest illegal granting of land to businessman” carried photos and details of the protest.
Fourthly, according to the lease, the lessees should within one year from the date of the commencement of the lease “cultivate and beneficially occupy at least one fifth part of the area of land”. This lease was purportedly granted by the former President Donald Ramotar, commencing November 17, 2014. Therefore, the one-year limit should have ended on November 16, 2015. The ‘lessee’ by her own admission stated that they started operations “during the last week of May 2016”. This by itself is breaching the terms of the lease.
However, what is more alarming is that on the last page of the lease where the signatories have to affix their signatures, the date of the signing was given as May 14, 2015. The ‘4’ was neatly struck off and a handwritten ‘5’ was written on top. Thus ‘14th May 2014’ became ‘14th May 2015’. Was this act deliberately done to avoid the penalty clause in the lease agreement?
Furthermore, this clearly would show that the former President could not have granted approval at 14th May when he was no longer the President.
This is in keeping with feedback from the former Attorney General, Mr Anil Nandlall, who when he asked the former President about the said lease denied any knowledge about it! Mr Nandlall also added that the former President can swear to an affidavit to that effect. This is illegallity!
In view of the foregoing, the Regional Chairman, David Armogan, has advised the Lands and Surveys Commission to revoke the said lease. Moreover, I served a notice to the ‘lessees’ advising them to vacate the said land within seven days since they are illegally occupying it. This notice is in accordance with Chapter 28:02 Section 143 of the laws of Guyana and was sent on April 13, 2016 by registered post. Despite this the ‘lessees’ have continued their illegal activities on the said land. Now they are trying to get public sympathy to cover their corrupt practices!
I will not pronounce on the feasibility of the said project since that question does not arise. People should understand that there is a legal process which must be adhered to before any project is started and once that is not done, then the relevant laws must be applied, rich or poor alike.
In closing, I wish to add that there are a few other illegal squatters who are currently engaging the attention of the NDC and at the last Statutory meeting it was decided to serve notices on all of them. They have squatted on huge acreages and this cannot be tolerated. This NDC and its officials are not corrupted and it is not corruption to root out corruption, it is justice! The letter writer is just trying to twist things around!
Yours sincerely,
Haseef Yusuf
Chairman
Kilcoy/Hampshire
NDC
