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Former Member

Former MP moves to repossess Pradoville2 lands

September 29, 2015 | By | Filed Under News 

pvilleFormer Member of Parliament (MP) Desmond Trotman has moved to the courts to challenge the sale and transfer of acres of prime ocean-front state lands to former President Bharrat Jagdeo, past government Ministers and other close associates.

 

In a high court motion filed yesterday, Trotman and the Committee for the Defence of the Constitution Incorporated, are seeking a mandatory order directed to each of the property owners that the legal and beneficial ownership of the parcels of land at Plantations Goedverwagting and Sparendaam, purported to be sold and transferred to them, shall be returned to the State.

 

Trotman is claiming that the prime lands were covertly sold at undervalued prices in a manner clearly lacking transparency and in an effort to develop the exclusive scheme, orders came from Cabinet and not through the requisite statutory bodies.

 

Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent from government corporations, it was claimed. Trotman brought to the court’s attention that the millions of dollars have been spent to develop the area but it was done unlawfully. The act was an abuse of power by the then Executive in contravention of the rights of the people, Trotman said.

 

In this light, the court has been asked to also grant a conservatory order prohibiting the Registrar of Lands from registering or transferring, or in any form or manner encumbering any of the parcels of land located in what is popularly known as Pradoville 2.

 

Trotman said the proceedings have been laid out in the interest of the public.

 

In representing Trotman and the group, Senior Counsel Rex McKay and Neil Boston along with Attorneys-at-Law Betina Glasford and Brenden Glasford have called on Attorney General Basil Williams to defend several actions taken by the former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Cabinet in setting up the exclusive housing scheme.

 

The court is being asked to declare that the move by the former cabinet to authorize National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) to approve the mutation of the parcels of East Coast Demerara lands without the authorisation and approval of Parliament, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) and other relevant statutory authorities “is arbitrary, unconstitutional, unreasonable, unlawful, ultra vires, null and void, ab initio and of no legal effect.”

 

A declaration is also being sought to the effect that the sale and transfer of the fully developed parcels of state lands by the Executive at undervalued prices to then government Ministers, officials, friends and cronies of the PPP without any recourse to a valuation or tender procedure or an invitation to the public that such lands are for sale is a wrongful and “unlawful grant of facilities and benefits, a brazen and flagrant infringement on citizens’ rights to equality before the law.”

 

This, he said, is in violation of the Constitution and is discriminatory.

Trotman wants the court to declare too that the purported conferment of the benefits, advantages and facilities by the then Cabinet and administrative actions of the State on the purported purchasers of parcels of the state lands, to acquire titles for them an abuse of power by the Executive in contravention of the rights of the people.

 

He is also seeking a declaration that the parcel holders have been accorded privileges which were not afforded to other persons and it is arbitrary, unconstitutional, unlawful, unreasonable, an abuse of power by the Executive and an infringement of the rights of the people.

 

Bought and Sold

In his affidavit of support, Trotman said that on September 2, 2010, parcels of the lands were registered to PPP Government ministers and their blood relatives, known supporters of the party and other senior influential Government employees.

 

Among those he listed were former Ministers Robert Persaud (Natural Resources), Shaikh Baksh (Housing and Water), Clement Rohee (Home Affairs), Priya Manickchand (Education) along with Lisaveta Ramotar, General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board and daughter of former President Donald Ramotar.

 

They each paid $1.5M for 0.3030 acres of land. The former Public Service Minister Jennifer Westford acquired 0.3186 acres at nearly $1.6M. One person stated as G. Singh and his wife paid $1.5M to acquire 0.3005 acres.

Of note, Trotman said that Jagdeo scooped up two parcels for himself. A 1.5 acre plot was bought by him for $7.5M and another 0.4603 acres for $2.3M.

According to Trotman’s supporting document, beneficiaries of the Government’s largesse were also former Chief Executive Officer of GuySuco, Dr. Rajendra Singh; former President of the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Dookoo, and Andrew Ranji Bishop, Florrie Loretta Ramnauth, Safraz Khan.

 

They each paid $1.5M for 0.3005 acres of land.

George Hallaq and Nada Hallaq paid $5M for 0.85 acre while, according to the document, Future Developers International (Guyana) Inc., a company whose sole Director is CEO Dr. Singh, paid $3M for the land.

 

Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Hack and her husband Moeenul Hack are said to have paid nearly $1.5M for 0.2767 acres. Former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Rear Admiral Gary Best and former Chairman of Commonwealth Development Compton Bourne were listed as having paid $1.5M for 0.3 acres of land there as well.

 

Trotman’s affidavit of support further stated that in 2013 former Minister Manickchand sold the land and property to David Narine for $100M while the year before, Persaud sold his land and property to a local company ASR Inc., for $90M.

 

Trotman said the conduct of the former Cabinet and their authorised administrative actions contravened his and the citizens’ fundamental right to equality before the law, the protection of the law, equality of treatment from public authorities in the exercise of their functions and the enjoyment of those rights without discrimination.

 

Covert Operation

In his Originating Notice of Motion, Desmond Trotman said the then President Jagdeo and his Cabinet covertly conceived clandestinely to develop the land without Parliamentary knowledge or approval for selective housing purposes.

 

According to the former MP, the project involved an expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars to develop the lands, to construct roads and drains, install water mains, electrical lines. The project involved the removal of a 300-foot state-owned broadcasting tower from the said lands and installing it at La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, it was said.

 

The former MP said that no money was authorised by Parliament for the development but to fund the project, the then Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh unlawfully authorised NICIL to take money collected by Government Corporations and other wholly owned Government Companies such as the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and GuyOil.

 

Monies from those agencies should have been paid into the Consolidated Fund, he said. The document states that in July 2010, Executive Director of NICIL Winston Brassington, directed Shabeer Ali, a sworn Land Surveyor, to survey and paal off the lands.

 

Having completed the survey on July 1 that year, a plan was recorded in the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission. The said plan, Trotman said, shows firstly the mutation of Parcel 237 into Parcels 238 to 247, Plantation Goedverwagting or Area other than Land Registration Area Block No. III.

Secondly, “Mutation of Parcel 172 into Parcels 173 to 196, Planation Sparendaam or Area other than Land Registration Area Block No. IV. Zone: East Coast Demerara in the County of Demerara.”

 

Trotman is adamant that parcels of this set of state lands of varying sizes and prices were “clandestinely, wrongfully and unlawfully sold and title transferred on the authorisation and direction of the Executive to Ministers of Government, cronies, friends and supporters of the People’s Progressive Party.”

 

He emphasised that no advertisement was made by the Government informing the public that the said parcels of state lands were for sale. He said the sale and transfer of titles for the said properties were done clandestinely by the Executive in a brazen abuse of power.

Hijacked

 

In his affidavit in support of the motion, Trotman stated that early in the year 2010, the former government hijacked two parcels of ocean-front state lands.

 

He said on March 9, 2010, the then Cabinet of Ministers authorized NICIL to be in charge of the project and do everything necessary for its successful completion. He said the surveyor recorded in note 5 of the Memorandum of the said plan, that The Areas surveyed are held by National Communications Network (NCN) by order No. 607 of 2004.

 

He said he was informed by a clerk in the office of the National Assembly that there is no such order 607 of 2004 in its records.

 

He stated the mutation of the said lands into parcels “was a manifestation of the Cabinet of Ministers decision clandestinely to develop the said lands into a private and selective housing scheme exclusively for Ministers of the Government, Senior and influential Government officials, cronies, friends and supporters of the People’s Progressive Party.”

 

In fact, Trotman said that the development of the said project fell within the administration of the Plaisance/Industry NDC, the Town and Country Planning Act, the Central Housing and Planning Authority, and of the Public Health Act.

 

The appointment of NICIL by Cabinet was therefore unlawful and void, he stated. He said the project’s development was carried out without the approval of Parliament or any of the Statutory Agencies. “The pricing and allocation of the said lands were not done by the CHPA and were not under their control, though payments were made to CHPA, of the sums stated on the Certificates of Title.”

 

The development of the lands was financed at great costs and in order to support its funding, the then Finance Minister and Cabinet authorised NICIL to use the moneys from the government companies.

 

He said that the development of the land is a scheme, as provided in the Town and Country Planning Act and is subjected to statutory provisions and regulations of the TCPA and CHPA. Trotman said that by Section 3 of TCPA, the execution and enforcement of a scheme is vested in the CHPA.

The project was never approved by the CHPA or by the Board under the Public Health Act however and according to Trotman all construction and building works carried out were unlawful.

 

He said in breaching Articles 149 and 149D of the constitution, the parcels of land were clandestinely sold to the select few without any recourse to a valuation or tender procedure, notification to the public that the said lands were for sale or an invitation to the public to purchase any of the said lands.

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Among those he listed were former Ministers Robert Persaud (Natural Resources), Shaikh Baksh (Housing and Water), Clement Rohee (Home Affairs), Priya Manickchand (Education) along with Lisaveta Ramotar, General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board and daughter of former President Donald Ramotar.

 

They each paid $1.5M for 0.3030 acres of land. The former Public Service Minister Jennifer Westford acquired 0.3186 acres at nearly $1.6M. One person stated as G. Singh and his wife paid $1.5M to acquire 0.3005 acres.

 

Of note, Trotman said that Jagdeo scooped up two parcels for himself. A 1.5 acre plot was bought by him for $7.5M and another 0.4603 acres for $2.3M.

According to Trotman’s supporting document, beneficiaries of the Government’s largesse were also former Chief Executive Officer of GuySuco, Dr. Rajendra Singh; former President of the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Dookoo, and Andrew Ranji Bishop, Florrie Loretta Ramnauth, Safraz Khan.

 

They each paid $1.5M for 0.3005 acres of land.

George Hallaq and Nada Hallaq paid $5M for 0.85 acre while, according to the document, Future Developers International (Guyana) Inc., a company whose sole Director is CEO Dr. Singh, paid $3M for the land.

 

Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Hack and her husband Moeenul Hack are said to have paid nearly $1.5M for 0.2767 acres. Former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Rear Admiral Gary Best and former Chairman of Commonwealth Development Compton Bourne were listed as having paid $1.5M for 0.3 acres of land there as well.

 

Trotman’s affidavit of support further stated that in 2013 former Minister Manickchand sold the land and property to David Narine for $100M while the year before, Persaud sold his land and property to a local company ASR Inc., for $90M.

FM

Jagdeo and his gang of thieves must be held accountable to the people of Guyana, who voted them in power.

Politicians are elected to serve the people and  not to serve themselves.

Jagdeo and the  PPP are self serving things within themselves, but nothing will serve the people of Guyana better, than to see them all in jail.

While the government confiscate what belong to the people of Guyana.

         

Tola

"The document states that in July 2010, Executive Director of NICIL Winston Brassington, directed Shabeer Ali, a sworn Land Surveyor, to survey and paal off the lands."

 

 

I got a feeling this one just a-shakin and pretty soon a-whistlin...hehehe

cain
Originally Posted by D2:

Former MP moves to repossess Pradoville2 lands

September 29, 2015 | By | Filed Under News 

pvilleFormer Member of Parliament (MP) Desmond Trotman has moved to the courts to challenge the sale and transfer of acres of prime ocean-front state lands to former President Bharrat Jagdeo, past government Ministers and other close associates.

 

In a high court motion filed yesterday, Trotman and the Committee for the Defence of the Constitution Incorporated, are seeking a mandatory order directed to each of the property owners that the legal and beneficial ownership of the parcels of land at Plantations Goedverwagting and Sparendaam, purported to be sold and transferred to them, shall be returned to the State.

 

Trotman is claiming that the prime lands were covertly sold at undervalued prices in a manner clearly lacking transparency and in an effort to develop the exclusive scheme, orders came from Cabinet and not through the requisite statutory bodies.

 

Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent from government corporations, it was claimed. Trotman brought to the court’s attention that the millions of dollars have been spent to develop the area but it was done unlawfully. The act was an abuse of power by the then Executive in contravention of the rights of the people, Trotman said.

 

In this light, the court has been asked to also grant a conservatory order prohibiting the Registrar of Lands from registering or transferring, or in any form or manner encumbering any of the parcels of land located in what is popularly known as Pradoville 2.

 

Trotman said the proceedings have been laid out in the interest of the public.

 

In representing Trotman and the group, Senior Counsel Rex McKay and Neil Boston along with Attorneys-at-Law Betina Glasford and Brenden Glasford have called on Attorney General Basil Williams to defend several actions taken by the former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Cabinet in setting up the exclusive housing scheme.

 

The court is being asked to declare that the move by the former cabinet to authorize National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) to approve the mutation of the parcels of East Coast Demerara lands without the authorisation and approval of Parliament, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) and other relevant statutory authorities “is arbitrary, unconstitutional, unreasonable, unlawful, ultra vires, null and void, ab initio and of no legal effect.”

 

A declaration is also being sought to the effect that the sale and transfer of the fully developed parcels of state lands by the Executive at undervalued prices to then government Ministers, officials, friends and cronies of the PPP without any recourse to a valuation or tender procedure or an invitation to the public that such lands are for sale is a wrongful and “unlawful grant of facilities and benefits, a brazen and flagrant infringement on citizens’ rights to equality before the law.”

 

This, he said, is in violation of the Constitution and is discriminatory.

Trotman wants the court to declare too that the purported conferment of the benefits, advantages and facilities by the then Cabinet and administrative actions of the State on the purported purchasers of parcels of the state lands, to acquire titles for them an abuse of power by the Executive in contravention of the rights of the people.

 

He is also seeking a declaration that the parcel holders have been accorded privileges which were not afforded to other persons and it is arbitrary, unconstitutional, unlawful, unreasonable, an abuse of power by the Executive and an infringement of the rights of the people.

 

Bought and Sold

In his affidavit of support, Trotman said that on September 2, 2010, parcels of the lands were registered to PPP Government ministers and their blood relatives, known supporters of the party and other senior influential Government employees.

 

Among those he listed were former Ministers Robert Persaud (Natural Resources), Shaikh Baksh (Housing and Water), Clement Rohee (Home Affairs), Priya Manickchand (Education) along with Lisaveta Ramotar, General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board and daughter of former President Donald Ramotar.

 

They each paid $1.5M for 0.3030 acres of land. The former Public Service Minister Jennifer Westford acquired 0.3186 acres at nearly $1.6M. One person stated as G. Singh and his wife paid $1.5M to acquire 0.3005 acres.

Of note, Trotman said that Jagdeo scooped up two parcels for himself. A 1.5 acre plot was bought by him for $7.5M and another 0.4603 acres for $2.3M.

According to Trotman’s supporting document, beneficiaries of the Government’s largesse were also former Chief Executive Officer of GuySuco, Dr. Rajendra Singh; former President of the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Dookoo, and Andrew Ranji Bishop, Florrie Loretta Ramnauth, Safraz Khan.

 

They each paid $1.5M for 0.3005 acres of land.

George Hallaq and Nada Hallaq paid $5M for 0.85 acre while, according to the document, Future Developers International (Guyana) Inc., a company whose sole Director is CEO Dr. Singh, paid $3M for the land.

 

Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Hack and her husband Moeenul Hack are said to have paid nearly $1.5M for 0.2767 acres. Former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Rear Admiral Gary Best and former Chairman of Commonwealth Development Compton Bourne were listed as having paid $1.5M for 0.3 acres of land there as well.

 

Trotman’s affidavit of support further stated that in 2013 former Minister Manickchand sold the land and property to David Narine for $100M while the year before, Persaud sold his land and property to a local company ASR Inc., for $90M.

 

Trotman said the conduct of the former Cabinet and their authorised administrative actions contravened his and the citizens’ fundamental right to equality before the law, the protection of the law, equality of treatment from public authorities in the exercise of their functions and the enjoyment of those rights without discrimination.

 

Covert Operation

In his Originating Notice of Motion, Desmond Trotman said the then President Jagdeo and his Cabinet covertly conceived clandestinely to develop the land without Parliamentary knowledge or approval for selective housing purposes.

 

According to the former MP, the project involved an expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars to develop the lands, to construct roads and drains, install water mains, electrical lines. The project involved the removal of a 300-foot state-owned broadcasting tower from the said lands and installing it at La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, it was said.

 

The former MP said that no money was authorised by Parliament for the development but to fund the project, the then Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh unlawfully authorised NICIL to take money collected by Government Corporations and other wholly owned Government Companies such as the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and GuyOil.

 

Monies from those agencies should have been paid into the Consolidated Fund, he said. The document states that in July 2010, Executive Director of NICIL Winston Brassington, directed Shabeer Ali, a sworn Land Surveyor, to survey and paal off the lands.

 

Having completed the survey on July 1 that year, a plan was recorded in the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission. The said plan, Trotman said, shows firstly the mutation of Parcel 237 into Parcels 238 to 247, Plantation Goedverwagting or Area other than Land Registration Area Block No. III.

Secondly, “Mutation of Parcel 172 into Parcels 173 to 196, Planation Sparendaam or Area other than Land Registration Area Block No. IV. Zone: East Coast Demerara in the County of Demerara.”

 

Trotman is adamant that parcels of this set of state lands of varying sizes and prices were “clandestinely, wrongfully and unlawfully sold and title transferred on the authorisation and direction of the Executive to Ministers of Government, cronies, friends and supporters of the People’s Progressive Party.”

 

He emphasised that no advertisement was made by the Government informing the public that the said parcels of state lands were for sale. He said the sale and transfer of titles for the said properties were done clandestinely by the Executive in a brazen abuse of power.

Hijacked

 

In his affidavit in support of the motion, Trotman stated that early in the year 2010, the former government hijacked two parcels of ocean-front state lands.

 

He said on March 9, 2010, the then Cabinet of Ministers authorized NICIL to be in charge of the project and do everything necessary for its successful completion. He said the surveyor recorded in note 5 of the Memorandum of the said plan, that The Areas surveyed are held by National Communications Network (NCN) by order No. 607 of 2004.

 

He said he was informed by a clerk in the office of the National Assembly that there is no such order 607 of 2004 in its records.

 

He stated the mutation of the said lands into parcels “was a manifestation of the Cabinet of Ministers decision clandestinely to develop the said lands into a private and selective housing scheme exclusively for Ministers of the Government, Senior and influential Government officials, cronies, friends and supporters of the People’s Progressive Party.”

 

In fact, Trotman said that the development of the said project fell within the administration of the Plaisance/Industry NDC, the Town and Country Planning Act, the Central Housing and Planning Authority, and of the Public Health Act.

 

The appointment of NICIL by Cabinet was therefore unlawful and void, he stated. He said the project’s development was carried out without the approval of Parliament or any of the Statutory Agencies. “The pricing and allocation of the said lands were not done by the CHPA and were not under their control, though payments were made to CHPA, of the sums stated on the Certificates of Title.”

 

The development of the lands was financed at great costs and in order to support its funding, the then Finance Minister and Cabinet authorised NICIL to use the moneys from the government companies.

 

He said that the development of the land is a scheme, as provided in the Town and Country Planning Act and is subjected to statutory provisions and regulations of the TCPA and CHPA. Trotman said that by Section 3 of TCPA, the execution and enforcement of a scheme is vested in the CHPA.

The project was never approved by the CHPA or by the Board under the Public Health Act however and according to Trotman all construction and building works carried out were unlawful.

 

He said in breaching Articles 149 and 149D of the constitution, the parcels of land were clandestinely sold to the select few without any recourse to a valuation or tender procedure, notification to the public that the said lands were for sale or an invitation to the public to purchase any of the said lands.

assembly of????

 

What about advisors of???

 

 

THIS MAN LIVES THERE  

 

FM
Originally Posted by KishanB:
Originally Posted by D2:

Former MP moves to repossess Pradoville2 lands

September 29, 2015 | By | Filed Under News 

pvilleFormer Member of Parliament (MP) Desmond Trotman has moved to the courts to challenge the sale and transfer of acres of prime ocean-front state lands to former President Bharrat Jagdeo, past government Ministers and other close associates.

 

In a high court motion filed yesterday, Trotman and the Committee for the Defence of the Constitution Incorporated, are seeking a mandatory order directed to each of the property owners that the legal and beneficial ownership of the parcels of land at Plantations Goedverwagting and Sparendaam, purported to be sold and transferred to them, shall be returned to the State.

 

Trotman is claiming that the prime lands were covertly sold at undervalued prices in a manner clearly lacking transparency and in an effort to develop the exclusive scheme, orders came from Cabinet and not through the requisite statutory bodies.

 

Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent from government corporations, it was claimed. Trotman brought to the court’s attention that the millions of dollars have been spent to develop the area but it was done unlawfully. The act was an abuse of power by the then Executive in contravention of the rights of the people, Trotman said.

 

In this light, the court has been asked to also grant a conservatory order prohibiting the Registrar of Lands from registering or transferring, or in any form or manner encumbering any of the parcels of land located in what is popularly known as Pradoville 2.

 

Trotman said the proceedings have been laid out in the interest of the public.

 

In representing Trotman and the group, Senior Counsel Rex McKay and Neil Boston along with Attorneys-at-Law Betina Glasford and Brenden Glasford have called on Attorney General Basil Williams to defend several actions taken by the former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Cabinet in setting up the exclusive housing scheme.

 

The court is being asked to declare that the move by the former cabinet to authorize National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) to approve the mutation of the parcels of East Coast Demerara lands without the authorisation and approval of Parliament, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) and other relevant statutory authorities “is arbitrary, unconstitutional, unreasonable, unlawful, ultra vires, null and void, ab initio and of no legal effect.”

 

A declaration is also being sought to the effect that the sale and transfer of the fully developed parcels of state lands by the Executive at undervalued prices to then government Ministers, officials, friends and cronies of the PPP without any recourse to a valuation or tender procedure or an invitation to the public that such lands are for sale is a wrongful and “unlawful grant of facilities and benefits, a brazen and flagrant infringement on citizens’ rights to equality before the law.”

 

This, he said, is in violation of the Constitution and is discriminatory.

Trotman wants the court to declare too that the purported conferment of the benefits, advantages and facilities by the then Cabinet and administrative actions of the State on the purported purchasers of parcels of the state lands, to acquire titles for them an abuse of power by the Executive in contravention of the rights of the people.

 

He is also seeking a declaration that the parcel holders have been accorded privileges which were not afforded to other persons and it is arbitrary, unconstitutional, unlawful, unreasonable, an abuse of power by the Executive and an infringement of the rights of the people.

 

Bought and Sold

In his affidavit of support, Trotman said that on September 2, 2010, parcels of the lands were registered to PPP Government ministers and their blood relatives, known supporters of the party and other senior influential Government employees.

 

Among those he listed were former Ministers Robert Persaud (Natural Resources), Shaikh Baksh (Housing and Water), Clement Rohee (Home Affairs), Priya Manickchand (Education) along with Lisaveta Ramotar, General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board and daughter of former President Donald Ramotar.

 

They each paid $1.5M for 0.3030 acres of land. The former Public Service Minister Jennifer Westford acquired 0.3186 acres at nearly $1.6M. One person stated as G. Singh and his wife paid $1.5M to acquire 0.3005 acres.

Of note, Trotman said that Jagdeo scooped up two parcels for himself. A 1.5 acre plot was bought by him for $7.5M and another 0.4603 acres for $2.3M.

According to Trotman’s supporting document, beneficiaries of the Government’s largesse were also former Chief Executive Officer of GuySuco, Dr. Rajendra Singh; former President of the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Dookoo, and Andrew Ranji Bishop, Florrie Loretta Ramnauth, Safraz Khan.

 

They each paid $1.5M for 0.3005 acres of land.

George Hallaq and Nada Hallaq paid $5M for 0.85 acre while, according to the document, Future Developers International (Guyana) Inc., a company whose sole Director is CEO Dr. Singh, paid $3M for the land.

 

Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Hack and her husband Moeenul Hack are said to have paid nearly $1.5M for 0.2767 acres. Former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Rear Admiral Gary Best and former Chairman of Commonwealth Development Compton Bourne were listed as having paid $1.5M for 0.3 acres of land there as well.

 

Trotman’s affidavit of support further stated that in 2013 former Minister Manickchand sold the land and property to David Narine for $100M while the year before, Persaud sold his land and property to a local company ASR Inc., for $90M.

 

Trotman said the conduct of the former Cabinet and their authorised administrative actions contravened his and the citizens’ fundamental right to equality before the law, the protection of the law, equality of treatment from public authorities in the exercise of their functions and the enjoyment of those rights without discrimination.

 

Covert Operation

In his Originating Notice of Motion, Desmond Trotman said the then President Jagdeo and his Cabinet covertly conceived clandestinely to develop the land without Parliamentary knowledge or approval for selective housing purposes.

 

According to the former MP, the project involved an expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars to develop the lands, to construct roads and drains, install water mains, electrical lines. The project involved the removal of a 300-foot state-owned broadcasting tower from the said lands and installing it at La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara, it was said.

 

The former MP said that no money was authorised by Parliament for the development but to fund the project, the then Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh unlawfully authorised NICIL to take money collected by Government Corporations and other wholly owned Government Companies such as the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and GuyOil.

 

Monies from those agencies should have been paid into the Consolidated Fund, he said. The document states that in July 2010, Executive Director of NICIL Winston Brassington, directed Shabeer Ali, a sworn Land Surveyor, to survey and paal off the lands.

 

Having completed the survey on July 1 that year, a plan was recorded in the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission. The said plan, Trotman said, shows firstly the mutation of Parcel 237 into Parcels 238 to 247, Plantation Goedverwagting or Area other than Land Registration Area Block No. III.

Secondly, “Mutation of Parcel 172 into Parcels 173 to 196, Planation Sparendaam or Area other than Land Registration Area Block No. IV. Zone: East Coast Demerara in the County of Demerara.”

 

Trotman is adamant that parcels of this set of state lands of varying sizes and prices were “clandestinely, wrongfully and unlawfully sold and title transferred on the authorisation and direction of the Executive to Ministers of Government, cronies, friends and supporters of the People’s Progressive Party.”

 

He emphasised that no advertisement was made by the Government informing the public that the said parcels of state lands were for sale. He said the sale and transfer of titles for the said properties were done clandestinely by the Executive in a brazen abuse of power.

Hijacked

 

In his affidavit in support of the motion, Trotman stated that early in the year 2010, the former government hijacked two parcels of ocean-front state lands.

 

He said on March 9, 2010, the then Cabinet of Ministers authorized NICIL to be in charge of the project and do everything necessary for its successful completion. He said the surveyor recorded in note 5 of the Memorandum of the said plan, that The Areas surveyed are held by National Communications Network (NCN) by order No. 607 of 2004.

 

He said he was informed by a clerk in the office of the National Assembly that there is no such order 607 of 2004 in its records.

 

He stated the mutation of the said lands into parcels “was a manifestation of the Cabinet of Ministers decision clandestinely to develop the said lands into a private and selective housing scheme exclusively for Ministers of the Government, Senior and influential Government officials, cronies, friends and supporters of the People’s Progressive Party.”

 

In fact, Trotman said that the development of the said project fell within the administration of the Plaisance/Industry NDC, the Town and Country Planning Act, the Central Housing and Planning Authority, and of the Public Health Act.

 

The appointment of NICIL by Cabinet was therefore unlawful and void, he stated. He said the project’s development was carried out without the approval of Parliament or any of the Statutory Agencies. “The pricing and allocation of the said lands were not done by the CHPA and were not under their control, though payments were made to CHPA, of the sums stated on the Certificates of Title.”

 

The development of the lands was financed at great costs and in order to support its funding, the then Finance Minister and Cabinet authorised NICIL to use the moneys from the government companies.

 

He said that the development of the land is a scheme, as provided in the Town and Country Planning Act and is subjected to statutory provisions and regulations of the TCPA and CHPA. Trotman said that by Section 3 of TCPA, the execution and enforcement of a scheme is vested in the CHPA.

The project was never approved by the CHPA or by the Board under the Public Health Act however and according to Trotman all construction and building works carried out were unlawful.

 

He said in breaching Articles 149 and 149D of the constitution, the parcels of land were clandestinely sold to the select few without any recourse to a valuation or tender procedure, notification to the public that the said lands were for sale or an invitation to the public to purchase any of the said lands.

assembly of????

 

What about advisors of???

 

 

THIS MAN LIVES THERE  

 

Did I say he is a current Presidential Advisor in September 2015?

FM

If that fellow got the 1.5 million per house lot in the area knowing it was part of a fleecing scheme then indeed he is a crook. Why do you think I would not label him as such? That he is a presidential adviser does not mean that he has suddenly been rehabilitated. It just means that the elites are being partial to their kin and allowing known crooks to get a pass.

FM

NCN invest money on dead project

September 30, 2015 | By | Filed Under News 

…Five-year-old transaction placed on books ahead of 2015 elections

An investment is expected to yield justifiable returns. The larger the investment the larger the return, but the National Communications Network (NCN)—cash strapped as it is—has done precisely the opposite  by having on its books an investment of almost $200M. The investment represents spending on a project for which the only beneficiaries are the residents of the now infamous Pradoville II.


Information coming to light reveals that the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), the parent company of NCN, spent $188M to remove the transmission tower.


That tower was relocated from Sparendaam, East Coast of Demerara (ECD) to La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara.


The money was however charged to NCN’s account as an investment. The money is part of an almost $300M that was spent by NICIL, in order to prepare the 15-acre tract of land transforming it into an exclusive residential community.


The financial transaction initiated by NICIL, headed by Winston Brassington, has since formed part of litigation to repossess the entire 15 acres now home to a high end community, and to several former ministers and senior government functionaries.


The investment represented in NCN’s accounts has since been coming under scrutiny given the state of affairs with the company’s financials and its claim to be owed several million dollars; monies which it is yet to recover.
This publication understands that NICIL’s Board of Directors approved the decision to develop the land at the behest of the then Cabinet, and in the process would have had to have the transmission tower relocated.

Winston Brassington

Winston Brassington

In order to mask the transactions, NICIL, increased its share contribution/equity holding in the television station.


With the money now being represented in NCN’s books as an increased shareholding, it was then written off as an investment.
That investment has since however attracted the attention of the authorities which are now questioning the transaction since there are no tangible benefits to NCN in order to justify the $188M in its books represented as an investment.


This publication understands that the dubious financial transaction was only represented in the NCN books in February, some five years after the decision to remove the tower and the money having already been spent. The recording of the transaction in NCN’s books also came just weeks before the recently concluded General and Regional Elections.


The house lots, developed in the Pradoville II community, complete with infrastructure, were sold below market value to former President Bharrat Jagdeo, several ministers and Government officials and friends.


There is no evidence that the house lots sale was advertised or what procedures were used in the allocations of the parcels of the ocean front properties.
Other beneficiaries included Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, and former Head of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Dookhoo.


The DPP has sweeping powers and holds an independent office.
Former Public Service Minister, Dr. Jennifer Westford; former Natural Resources Minister, Robert Persaud; Compton Bourne, former Head of the Caribbean Development Bank and UG Chancellor; Ghansham Singh and Kamini Parag-Singh and Florrie Loretta Ramnauth  also received house lots.
Singh is said to be the son of former Labour Minister, Dr. Nanda Gopaul. They also paid just over $1.5M.


Ali-Hack and her husband, Moeen ul Hack, a top figure in the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG), paid $1,488,744 for a piece of land. The Certificates of Title were prepared in 2011.


Dookhoo, a Banks DIH executive, was a former Chairman of PSC as well as the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI). He reportedly paid $1,502,500 for his plot with his title prepared in 2010.


Also benefitting was Lisaveta Ramotar, daughter of former President Donald Ramotar. She paid $1,515,000.


Former Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee; former GWI boss, Shaik Baksh and former Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, also received lots, paying just over $1.5M each.


So too did former Army Chief, Rear Admiral Gary Best and sacked Chief Executive Officer of the embattled Guyana Sugar Corporation, Dr. Rajendra Singh.


Also named in the list were Andrew Bishop, a Presidential Advisor in the former administration and former Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission.


Safraaz Khan and George Hallaq, said to be the country’s former Middle East envoy, and a company called Future Developers International Guyana Inc., were also among the other names on the list.

 

FM

The Granger government should not keep the DPP. There is a shadow over her and her husband in the NBS fiasco and now they are seen to have been part of the long line of people slurping soup off the largess of the state.

FM
Originally Posted by D2:

The Granger government should not keep the DPP. There is a shadow over her and her husband in the NBS fiasco and now they are seen to have been part of the long line of people slurping soup off the largess of the state.

So the past Government was sharing land like candy, should the recipiets loose their jobs for that? 

Chief
Originally Posted by Chief:
Originally Posted by D2:

The Granger government should not keep the DPP. There is a shadow over her and her husband in the NBS fiasco and now they are seen to have been part of the long line of people slurping soup off the largess of the state.

So the past Government was sharing land like candy, should the recipiets loose their jobs for that? 

Some of these guys live in lah lah land.

FM
Originally Posted by skeldon_man:
Originally Posted by Chief:
Originally Posted by D2:

The Granger government should not keep the DPP. There is a shadow over her and her husband in the NBS fiasco and now they are seen to have been part of the long line of people slurping soup off the largess of the state.

So the past Government was sharing land like candy, should the recipiets loose their jobs for that? 

Some of these guys live in lah lah land.

And where do you live...in the bosom of those crooks?

FM

Ombudsman’s report exposes Jagdeo’s witch hunt of NBS CEO, managers

November 13, 2014 | By | Filed Under Heist of Guyana, News 

A damning report by the Office of the Ombudsman has concluded that police wrongfully charged the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and two of his managers of a massive $69M fraud at the New Building Society, in 2006.


The explosive document by the public complaint office, released this month by Ombudsman, Justice Winston Moore, was based on complaints by Maurice Arjoon, the former CEO, who claimed that he was framed after he refused to illegally endorse the lending of $2B, in 2006. Arjoon’s decision to only lend $350M in keeping with the country’s financial laws angered former President Bharrat Jagdeo who allegedly threatened to deal with the CEO.


The Ombudsman’s report also questioned the role that Director of Public Prosecution, Shalimar Ali-Hack, and her husband, Sheik-ul-Hack, played in the investigations.
The report also questioned the police over missing key exhibits and failure to follow-up of obvious questions.
The report also called for the case to be re-opened.

Here is the report:

December 25, 2014

“I will never forgive or forget their evil faces” – sacked NBS CEO

nbs-crewThirteen years to the day after he started working at the New Building Society (NBS), Operations Manager, Kent Vincent, reported for duties as normal.


It seemed like just another day- May 31st, 2007.


But it was about to go all wrong. Vincent was told that he is being charged in connection with a $69M fraud committed on a customer’s account at NBS. Also charged was his boss, Maurice Arjoon, and co-worker, Kissoon Baldeo.
The high profile case was widely reported in the media not only because of the amount involved, but because of the fact that NBS is the biggest mortgage lender in Guyana.


Vincent was reportedly one of the signatories to the cheques issued to the person who used a fake Power of Attorney to carry out the fraud.
For seven years, after he was charged, the stain remained, despite the court case being dropped after the main witness- the holder of the account – had stopped coming to court.


Then in October, a shocking report by Ombudsman, Justice Winston Moore, found that the police should never have charged the three men. The report, based on a complaint by Arjoon, said that the men suffered a grave injustice and should be compensated for losing seven years of their lives.
Arjoon claimed in his complaint that they were framed because he refused to illegally lend $2B from NBS to finance the construction of the Berbice River Bridge. The decision by NBS apparently angered former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, he said.


Vincent is now the Chief Executive Officer of Food For The Poor, one of the biggest non-governmental organizations in the country.


Before he got the job in 2011, Vincent, a father of five daughters, suffered from the stigma of the charges. He was understudying the then CEO, Leon Davis, who was proceeding on retirement leave. But Vincent could not take up the post until his case was dropped in Magistrate’s Court in 2011.


Speaking with Kaieteur News, Vincent said that he was utterly shocked by the charges; he had no inkling of it. He had only shortly before been transferred from Essequibo to the NBS headquarters.


He and a few others had been cooperating with police on the investigations of the fraud with another staffer, Kumar Ragobar, being the main suspect. The day before he was charged he was told by his boss, Arjoon, that the police wanted them at Eve Leary the next morning.


On May 31, he was taken to court and charged with the two other managers for the $69M fraud.


$2M Bail
The court placed him on $2M bail. Vincent did not have the money as he had used his savings to buy household and other items. A sympathetic staffer paid the bail.


The charges significantly impacted Vincent who was without a job for eight months.


He stopped using his fans and microwave and put them away in the storeroom of the South Ruimveldt home he was renting.
For a few months, he could not even pay his rent but his landlord allowed them to continue living there.


But faith in God and support from the congregation of the Brickdam Cathedral where Vincent and his family were prominent members helped the family.


The first Sunday after he was charged, the priest publicly announced his support for the former manager and his family. It was a major boost as the church never discontinued Vincent from serving in his capacity.
Families and friends did what they could to help.


“It was then that I knew who were the real friends. People came and gave us money to help out. My sister in Guyana who was working also helped.”
Vincent said that he believed that the court case was being deliberately dragged on. It was only after his lawyer, Basil Williams, applied for the case to be dismissed because of the missing main witness that the court relented.


Vincent was not worried. “We did not do anything wrong. There was no evidence against me. I never felt any shame. I slept well. The only thing was that it was annoying attending court often.”


As a matter of fact, Vincent said that because of church upbringing, he has long forgiven the persons involved in causing seven years of his life to go.
“I have no malice against anyone. No grievance. I have been taught to forgive. If people do wrong and avoid the law of the land, in the end we would answer to the law of God. I forgave them since the beginning.”
Vincent does not know the real reasons why he was charged although he has heard some theories.


“Even if it was an error of judgment why were the charges not dropped after it was learnt who the real culprits were? The statements were clear that we should never have been charged.”


Vincent insisted that it could not be that he had a close relationship with his boss, Arjoon.


“We were not close. Mr. Arjoon was a rigid boss. We were not friendly in the sense that we went drinking.”


With regards to the positive news that came out of the Ombudsman’s report which cleared his name, Vincent said it was a huge relief.
“We…my family…were happy it came out in the way it did. When we were first charged it was all over the front page. It came out again on the front page in a different way. It showed we were not involved.”


The executive said it would have been difficult without the support of his wife and daughters, the eldest who is 26 now.
He has sued NBS for $500M.


Can’t Forgive
Vincent’s story of suffering would be similar to that of Arjoon. But different, too. He has not forgiven his accusers.
He said that his dismissal left him with a huge mortgage payment every month. For months, he could not even speak because of the shock.
“If it was not for my wife and family, it would have been difficult. We even stopped buying clothes.”


The Arjoon family was literally ostracized by persons that they once knew.  The couple lost weight.


“I told reporters that I am innocent and the truth will come out. Although internal and external investigations at NBS and the trial at the Magistrates’ Courts cleared us, it is solidified seven and a half years later by this report from Guyana’s Ombudsman.”
Arjoon was just a few months from retiring when he was sacked. He lost all his benefits, to the tune of millions, as a result of his dismissal.
His photos too had been splashed more than anyone in the local newspapers.

 

“The persons who conspired to get us charged took away seven and half years and continuing of our lives and that of our families. We have suffered immensely.  Their actions can be considered evil and criminal…”
Arjoon is asking for President Donald Ramotar to personally intervene to ensure that his benefits are paid.


He also wants the Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack; Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh; and former NBS Chairman, Dr. Nanda Gopaul, and others involved in his “frame-up” to be “relieved of their positions, investigated and be dealt with according to law”.
“I will never forgive or forget their evil faces. Through their evil actions, the lives of a few men and their families were taken away and their reputations hurt. Justice has to be served.”


Baldeo is said to have migrated and suffered also from his sacking.

FM

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