PPP/C had to reclaim land APNU/AFC gave away, to redistribute to ordinary Guyanese – Jagdeo

– says land at Wales estate were given out by APNU/AFC to close associates

After it got into office, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government was forced to reclaim land that had been given out by its predecessor A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) to a few, so that as many ordinary Guyanese as possible could benefit.

This was the case in particular in Region Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara), with Vice President Bharrat (VP) Jagdeo noting that his party found that APNU/AFC had given out large tracts of Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) land at Wales, to its friends and cronies.
The Wales sugar estate was one of four estates that were closed by the APNU/AFC coalition after it took office in 2015. And not only were machinery from the estate sold by the former Government, but thousands of acres of land either sold or leased to private individuals. According to Jagdeo, this had forced the PPP/C to take back the land after it returned to office, so it could be distributed in a more fair and equitable manner.

“GuySuCo land – they should be ashamed to talk anything about GuySuCo. GuySuCo land, which APNU/AFC gave away at Wales, all the GuySuCo lands. I think they sold the estate houses. And all the land at Wales, they gave away to a few individuals, most of them associated with the PNC,” Jagdeo said.
“We now have to take those lands back, to build houses and (allocate) house lots to people. Which we’re doing. Or else we wouldn’t have been able to fulfil our plan to give everyone who needs them, every Guyanese a house lot.”
According to Jagdeo, the Government is developing 14,000 house lots at Wales, as part of the overall goal of 50,000 house lots by 2025 – a goal the party has already reached. He noted that had the PPP/C not reclaimed that land, they would have been unable to distribute those house lots at Wales to thousands of ordinary Guyanese in need.
“If we didn’t take that back, we wouldn’t have had land. Because when you think about beyond Uitvlugt, most of those lands are private. Most of Region Three, we’ve had very limited amounts of land. If we didn’t take that back… they should just go quiet on these matters. But you will see, no doubt, that they will be talking about this again,” he said.
The former APNU/AFC Government has been heavily criticised for the multiple breaches of land policies that occurred between 2015 and 2020, including land transactions that bypassed public processes, lacked board representation, and failed to meet payment and development obligations.
In one instance, some developers paid less than 10 per cent of the purchase price for prime land, and in others, the developers were given 90 months to complete the development, with no significant payment made upfront.
Earlier this year, President Dr Irfaan Ali had pointed out that many of the land deals entered into by the previous administration were conducted without public tenders or expressions of interest, leading to concerns over transparency.
“There was no public tender or expression of interest. The 23 transactions were entered into after the APNU-AFC Government was defeated by a vote of no confidence on the 21st of December 2018 in the National Assembly. More importantly, they were finalised mere days and hours before the general elections of 2nd of March 2020, and they were vested after the general election date as well.”
“It gets worse. Most of these transactions, they collected less than 10 per cent of the total purchase price…this is the highest land, the highest value land in the country. In our agreement, we collected 30 per cent as a down payment with a series of conditions that must be satisfied,” Ali had also said.
According to President Ali, under his Government any breaches to Guyana’s overhauling land policy by private developers will result in the repossession of land. In outlining the terms of agreements with private developers, President Ali had made it clear that strict conditions are attached to the sale of land for development.
Among these are requirements for the installation of drainage systems, roads and street lighting within 18 months, and the completion of at least 70 per cent of residential construction within three years.
Last month, it had been announced that the Ministry of Housing had surpassed its target of 50,000 house lot distribution for 2020-2025. In its last manifesto, the party had promised 50,000 house lots during its first five years in office.