Central Housing committee recommends Deputy Head sent on leave

A critical committee of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) has reportedly recommended that the entity’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Denise King-Tudor, be sent on administrative leave.
According to CH&PA’s staffers over the weekend, the Land Allocation Committee, appointed in December, has been trying to understand several deals and transactions conducted over time.
However, the committee, which comprises Board Members and headed by Mark Jacobs, complained last week that the Land Administration Department was not cooperating in the face of requests for critical documents and information.
According to CH&PA officials, the committee had written to Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, and Junior Minister, Valerie Adams-Patterson, informing that requests for documents since early January had gone unanswered.
On March 3, there was an emergency with the various Ministers within the Ministry of Communities.  In addition to the three Ministers, present also were Permanent Secretary, Emil Mc Garrel; Chairman of the Board, Hamilton Green; CEO, Myrna Pitt; King-Tudor, the lawyer and the Heads of the Committees of the Board of CH&PA.
According to CH&PA staffers, during that meeting the Ministers were told that there was a lack of cooperation from senior functionaries with regard to the provision on timely basic information requested by the committees.
At that meeting, the CH&PA officials were given directives to comply.
Last Monday, the Deputy CEO proceeded on leave, reportedly without informing the Board of Directors. It left in limbo several questions and requests that had been made for information.
The Land Allocation Committee, as a result, wrote the Chairman of the Board, copying it to the Ministers.
The committee recommended that the Deputy CEO be sent on administrative leave immediately.
The committee cited the ongoing crisis in CH&PA’s Land Administration, the backlog of applications, the complaints from the public and ongoing instances of malfeasance.

CH&PA’s CEO,
Myrna Pitt

Deputy CEO,
Denise King-Tudor

The committee also instructed that all documents and information requested be immediately handed over by management.
Contacted yesterday, Jacobs referred Kaieteur News to the Chairman of the Board and for CH&PA matters to the CEO.
“Additionally, you can contact Minister Valerie Patterson. While I champion freedom of information, I am not the person authorised to discuss Board matters with the press.”
As Director of Operations, King-Tudor is responsible for all land allocations in Guyana as well as the Enforcement Division of CH&PA.
The Land Allocation Department is also responsible and oversees the large tracts of land allocated to private developers. CH&PA staffers said very little of this information has been shared with the Board of Directors.
The Land Allocation Committee is mandated to oversee all transactions and operations of the Land Administration Department. It can also investigate irregularities.
With more than 25,000 applications on file for house lots and turn-key homes, CH&PA is under pressure to find new lands.
There have been increasing complaints of corruption at CH&PA with allegations that persons who are not entitled to house lots receiving one while others have received multiple lots.
Currently being investigated is issue of the large tracts of lands on East Bank Demerara which have been behind in developmental schedules set by the authority.
The authority has been ordered to clear up the backlog and tighten the application process to reduce corruption.