Repossession threats will further delay private developers – Ali

Government’s daring threats to repossess lands given to private developers will result in further delays in the development of the respective housing projects, former Housing Minister Irfaan Ali has warned.

Ali, during a phone interview with Guyana Times on Tuesday, lambasted the present Administration for sending negative signals to the Private Sector and banking sector, with its recent threats to repossess lands on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) given out by the previous Administration to developers.

According to the politician, these threats will drive fear and will result in the loss of confidence by investors and the banking sector, who will withhold from further investing in order to safeguard their financial positions.

“Continuous threats and a high-handed approach to the issue, inclusive of repossession, will only lead to further delays, erosion of confidence and lack of motivation. It would also affect the banking institutions as they become more sceptical in financing these private developers, based on the constant threats by the Government,” Ali told this newspaper.

He argued that Government’s contentions of little progress being made by the private developers was nothing more than misleading rhetoric, as there were at least two major projects which have made significant strides under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration.

“When we were in Government, we had tremendous progress by the private developers – look at Windsor Estates and Republic Gardens,” he highlighted.

Mixed signals

In contrast, Ali opined that the progress began to decline upon the assumption of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition Administration to power, as there were many uncertainties in the business environment.

Flash-forward several months and Ali said that decline has further increased as Government continues to send mixed signals and issue threats, which cause investors to hold back on spending.

Wakeup call

Ali further contended that these repossession threats would have an overall adverse effect on the economy and the livelihood of many Guyanese as they would result in the poor performance of the construction sector.

“The 2016 review of the economy should have been a wakeup call for the Government, since construction fell drastically and construction as a singular activity has the most trickle-down benefits to an economy,” he explained.

He pointed out that the housing initiative during his tenure sought to incorporate a range of options for home solutions to different segments of the population, including partnerships with hinterland communities, and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).

Ali explained that the aim of the PPP/C was to accelerate investment in the housing sector, and to add private capital to the development, among other benefits.

He also noted that the private developers, over the years ,would have invested heavily in relation to housing development, infrastructure development and plant and machinery, and, therefore, it would be detrimental if these investments would just have been in vain.

In this regard, Ali urged that the coalition Administration work together with the private developers as their initiative would complement the traditional housing programme.

“For example, a gated community in Eccles automatically carries up the value of other homes in the Eccles housing schemes,” he highlighted.

Impacts of repossession

However, he warned of the negative impacts if Government moved ahead to repossess the lands for the purpose of pursuing its housing project of developing duplexes and townhouses.

For the sake of the country and the housing programme which has made significant strides over the years, Ali urged that Government focus more on the PPPs and in winning the confidence of the private developers, and to work with them in expanding the housing sector.

“The Government must see the private developers as partners and you cannot issue threats continuously to your partners; you have to work with your partners to achieve a common goal,” he underscored.

Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan told a recent news conference that advice has been sought from the Attorney General’s Chambers regarding grounds for repossessing those lands.

Some of the private developers include businessman Brian Tiwarie, Chinese logging company BaiShanLin, Windsor Estates and Dax Contracting Services.