East Bank lands gobbled up by ‘private developers’

– two Chinese companies, Ramroop benefit

There are shocking details emerging of Government’s handling and distribution of lands on East Bank Demerara.

New GPC’s Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop

A significant portion of the front part of the former cane fields, stretching from Eccles to Diamond, has ended up mainly in the hands of close friends of the national leaders and party officials.
The situation has now left Government scrambling to find lands for almost 10,000 applicants for house lots that are reportedly pending.
Some persons have been waiting for years on a positive response from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).
Government has been saying that few areas remain available on the East Bank Demerara for development.
New lands are being opened up on the Soesdyke/Linden highway and attempts are being made to purchase cane field between Eccles and Ogle, on East Coast Demerara.
However, it is unclear how much of those cane field lands will be earmarked for actual house lots for citizens and how much for private developers.
According to documents in possession of this newspaper, 11 private developers have been given hundreds of acres of lands stretching from behind Peter’s Hall to Providence as early as 2011. Two more were allowed

Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali

swaths of land in the Diamond and Golden Grove areas.
Still another 11companies, as of July last year, were set to receive lands from CH&PA for especially areas in the Little Diamond and Great Diamond areas. It is unclear what has been allocated.
One company, Luxury Reality Inc., which has lands in Providence, has listed as its Director/Secretary, Roopnarine Ramcharitar, a right hand man for Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop. Ramroop is the owner of New GPC, a company that was investigated by the Opposition for a number of questionable deals. He is the best friend of former President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Chinese
Two other companies that received lands were Hi Tech Construction Inc. and Sunset Lakes Inc. Both companies are under the control of the Chinese.
Hi Tech has Su Zhi Rong listed as its Director while the Secretaries are Zhang Ling Ling and Ming Chen.
Sunset Lakes Inc was controlled by Brian Tiwarie but that company is now reportedly owned by BaiShanLin, which has started building homes that range from $50M to more than $100M.
It is unclear how BaiShanLin ended up with the lands from Tiwarie because the lands cannot just be sold. The CH&PA agreement is very specific about what a developer can and cannot do with it.
BaiShanLin is a company that is under investigations for its vast logging and mining

An overhead shot showing part of the development in Providence, EBD.

acquisitions in recent years under controversial circumstances. It was given concessions on almost 200 vehicles and other pieces of heavy equipment.
The other companies that were allocated lands between Eccles and Mocha were Queensway Dax Contracting Service, Nabi Construction Incorporated, Buddy’s Housing Development, Cumberland Developers Inc., Vikab Engineering Consultants, Kishan Bacchus Construction, Caricom General Insurance, Navigant Builders and Windsor Gardens.
Queensway has been allowed several acres in Golden Grove.
As of July last year, those that had applications at CH&PA for lands were Buddy Housing Development, Queensville Housing Development, A&R Jiwanram Printery, Raydan Housing Enterprise, Lakeview Executive Homes, Gentle P. Elias and Brian Chase, Chung’s Global Enterprise, Prembury Consultants T&T Limited and Romell Jagroop Construction.
The Chinese owned Hi Tech Construction has also applied for lands in the Little Diamond/Great Diamond area.
Scraps of Meat
The Opposition has been investigating the land deals. In 2013, CH&PA said that it had advertised for proposals from private developers. The idea was to have a mix of homes.
Back then, Minister of Housing, Irfaan Ali, said that 400 acres were allocated for private development between Eccles to Providence.
However, statements and other details coming out from advertisements by even some of the private developers indicate that much more lands were allocated, including areas between Herstelling and Diamond.
Minister Ali had defended the mainly front lands that were placed in the hands on private developers saying that it is not true that these were prime lands. He said that a planned highway at the back of the housing schemes from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and other interlinking roads have made the backlands almost as valuable, an explanation the Opposition is not swallowing.
Last week, former Parliamentarian and Leader of the Alliance For Change, Khemraj Ramjattan, said that he is repeating what he said in 2013 regarding the ad-hoc distribution of lands, especially on the East Bank of Demerara.
“It is a giveaway. It is simple as that. I said that the housing policy is designed to enrich a few. And then scraps of meat that are left over are being thrown to a few people who are eligible and then some who are not. Big pieces of lands have been given away and we don’t know how much was paid and what systems were used to allocate these friends of the PPP.
“Now they asking people to vote them in again. It is 10,000 families who want a home and can’t get. There are some illegalities here.”
Back in 2013, a leaked map indicated 1,000 house lots (roughly 250 acres) have been made available at Eccles for house lots and just over 400 acres behind Providence for more.
Recently, an attempt to buy cane lands located behind Eccles and Ogle reached a hurdle after the Opposition went to court claiming that the transaction was illegal.
The opposition argued successfully in court that a $3B loan from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission to the CH&PA was illegal and should not be allowed.
The court ruled last week that the loan agreement was “null and void” and should not go through.

Any new government will have to claw back much of these state resources that were stolen. The government will have to setup a complete department fully staffed just to work around the clock to recover stolen state property.

This thread should be pinned to the top of the Forum page.

This is not a desperate move. This is in the Jagdeo PPP's DNA. They can't help themselves. They are about to be investigated and thrown in jail come after May 11 and these kleptomaniacs cannot help themselves.

The new government, if formed by the opposition has to be reminded of these things. New governments are eager for investment and the ELites are always the first in their ear. The Chinese know of this also and that is why they make inroads everywhere on the planet despite local people compliant.  BaiShanLin is devouring our forests, our mining concessions and now our lands for housing simply because they have cash to pay off the rent seeking ministers of the state.

Airport contract,$138M US can Guyana afford this???

FINANCED BY THE CHINESE.

No. We have hardly no income producing sector to cover the cost of debt for projects we do not need.

Also there is not enough air traffic to generate income,

this was a plan to steal,and also allow other Chinese

companies to loot Guyana resources

"A significant portion of the front part of the former cane fields, stretching from Eccles to Diamond, has ended up mainly in the hands of close friends of the national leaders and party officials.
The situation has now left Government scrambling to find lands for almost 10,000 applicants for house lots that are reportedly pending.
Some persons have been waiting for years on a positive response from the Central Housing and Planning Authority"