NEWS
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM
Govt transfers ECD prime riverfront land in waning days of Administration – NICIL defends transaction, says monies earmarked for cash-strapped GuySuCo
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n the waning days of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition, evidence has emerged of the Government transferring large tracts of land, including prime riverfront land, into the hands of a few. A case in point is Bosai minerals group, located at Republic Avenue, Mackenzie, Linden, which had a total of 1.427 acres of land transferred to it by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), in an order signed by Finance Minister Winston Jordan on June 11, 2020. In fact, all the orders were dated June 11. The land, which has no infrastructure on it, includes 0.353 acres at the Lot 53 portion of Plantation Surapana on the banks of the Demerara River. Another 0.356 acres on the banks of the River were also transferred. Meanwhile, NICIL also transferred 20 acres of land at Goedverwagting and Sparendaam on the East Coast of Demerara to a prominent company. A similar transac-
tion was the transfer of 20 acres of land, also part of Goedverwagting and Sparendaam, to American Marine and Services Incorporated. The company, located at Lot 215 Cross Street and Mandela Avenue Alexander Village, was granted the land by NICIL on the basis of Jordan’s order. Meanwhile, another beneficiary of land was Premier Sales Incorporated, of lot 101 Pike Street, Kitty. The company received five acres of land also in Sparendaam and Goedverwagting, on the ECD, and also under the hand of the Finance Minister. Cardiology Services Incorporated of Lot 184 Demerara Estate, Plantation Pattensen, was also the beneficiary of eight acres of land at Montrose, on the ECD. Land was also sold to Earl’s Court Incorporated, a company registered at 62 Hadfield and Cross Streets. The land, 30 acres, is located at Chateau Margot on the ECD. In addition, land was distributed to Trinuyana Investments Limited of Lot 62 Hadfield Street. A to-
Trinuyana Investments Limited previously received land at Ogle
tal of 19.678 acres of land was distributed at Ogle and Goedverwagting. This company had also received large tracts of land at Ogle, for the purpose of developing hotels. The developments come at a time when the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) has before it a huge backlog of cases and thousands of dissatisfied ordinary citizens languishing in the system, made worse by the coalition Government’s lack of ordinary house lot distribution policies. Government is supposed
to be in both a caretaker and a transition mode, where large transactions are not entered into. The governing coalition would have lost a No-Confidence Motion in December 2018. In addition, based on the recount, the coalition also lost the March 2 General and Regional Elections. The revelations, therefore, generated outrage across social media. In a statement on Tuesday, however, NICIL defended the transactions by pointing out that the lands were partly paid for last year.
According to NICIL, however, the transaction was not complete because the vesting orders were not gazetted. NICIL claimed that the rush to complete the transactions is due to the dire financial straits facing the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), which it is funding. GuySuCo had recently appealed to the Government for funds in order to ensure it could continue through the month of June. Already, GuySuCo has shown itself to be unable to meet its first crop target. “We wish to remind the public that NICIL through the SPU, sold lands that were vested to it
by the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. NICIL received deposits for the lands commencing December 2019, however, the transactions remained incomplete since the vesting orders were not ‘Signed and Gazetted’ as required by law and this meant that the remaining sums could not be paid over by the investors.” “Following GuySuCo’s recent request to the Government for a bailout, NICIL was approached to assist the company. By now, the public must be aware that a $30 billion bond backed by NICIL’s assets and guaranteed by the Government of Guyana was secured through NICIL to retrofit and revitalise GuySuCo. We wish to remind too, that from July 2018 to February 2020, NICIL has disbursed $9,720,759,568 to GuySuCo to fund its Capital and Operational Expenditure.” NICIL also stressed that Minister Jordan did not have any involvement in the selection of the investors, since he is not a member of the NICIL Board, nor involved in the day to day management of NICIL or the Special Purpose Unit (SPU) arm of NICIL. Efforts to contact the Minister were futile.
OAS says GECOM already in possession of “valid votes” from national recount Market vendor shot
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he Organisation of American States (OAS) has asserted that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) is already in the possession of “valid votes” produced by the Caricom-supervised recount exercise. The international electoral observer mission made the contention in a statement on Tuesday following the Court of Appeal’s interpretation of the Guyana Constitution that “more votes cast” actually means “more valid votes cast”. The OAS, of which Guyana is a member, posited that “GECOM is therefore already in possession of a result based on the valid votes cast on March 2, 2020, through a recount exercise that was approved by all stakeholders.” It further noted that “In these circumstances, the OAS General Secretariat expects that anyone who wishes to challenge the validity of any of these votes should do so through an election petition filed in the High Court, after GECOM declares the election result based on the recount data.” The results from the recount exercise show the PPP/C won with 233,336 votes while the APNU/AFC garnered 217,920. General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had also contended that “valid votes” were already determined
by GECOM through the recount activity. According to the OAS, Guyana’s 2020 elections have been reviewed repeatedly and extensively by both national and regional courts and while its General Secretariat advocates for the right of all citizens to access electoral justice, “there is a fine line between the right to redress and the use of the courts to stall the electoral process”. It was the APNU/AFC, through its supporter Eslyn David, that approached the Court of Appeal just when GECOM had decided to go ahead with the declaration of the elections based on the recount results. Now, the Appeal court’s ruling is being challenged at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) by the PPP/C which has contended that the Court’s pronouncements have “plunged the law in total confusion and it is now no longer clear how an election of members of the National Assembly is to be challenged and how the election of the President can be challenged.”
Nevertheless, the OAS contended that Guyana’s electoral process “must be brought to an end, based on the results of the National Recount, and with respect for the will of the majority of the electorate.” “It is undeniable that this election has gone on long enough,” the OAS ex-
pressed, noting that it remains committed to the strengthening of democracy in Guyana, hoping for a “just and fair conclusion” of the current process. The OAS has accompanied the March 2 elections in Guyana throughout all of its stages, including the National Recount which last from May 6 to June 8. OAS observers were present for the determination and tabulation of the total valid votes cast in each Region – totals that were subsequently confirmed by the Chief Elections Officer and submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
by gun-toting bandits
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market vendor was on Sunday shot by two gun-toting bandits during a brazen robbery at La Penitence Market, Georgetown. According to reports, the man and his son were selling from their truck around 13:00h when two men rode up on a blue Jialing motorcycle and held the duo at gunpoint demanding money. The father put up a fight, and in retaliation, the pillion rider discharged several rounds hitting him twice to the back.
The two bandits then relieved him of an undisclosed sum of money before escaping. The injured man’s son picked him up and rushed him to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was admitted. His condition is listed as critical. When contacted, acting Region Four (DemeraraMahaica) Police Commander, Senior Superintendent Phillip Azore stated that investigations were ongoing and declined to provide any other information.
