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City Hall probing multiple leases issued for single property

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown has been placed in a conundrum as it relates to leased properties in the city and the possession of relevant documents for these lands.
Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine at Monday’s statutory meeting explained that the Communities Ministry would have sent 54 leases for the Council to examine. However, they are still battling with cases where multiple leases exist for the same plot of land.
“We cannot deal with all of those leases. Dealing with all those leases at one time will not solve the issue. I said to the Deputy Mayor, ‘see which one you can get the lease for and get those matters tabled and let us see how we are going to be able to get the others to submit their leases’. Why I use ‘leases’ is because one property has two and three leases,” he indicated.
He went on to say that all such transactions should pass through the required systems of the Council.
“Everything should pass through this council. No one cannot commit this Council without the knowledge of the Council…Some councillors are aware of the issue that we have at East Street where a huge place was leased and the then-Town Clerk wrote a letter. We had to go all around to get that lease, talking with the community and different bodies to find who it is really leased to,” he pointed out.
According to Narine, properties which were leased for less than the actual worth would have cost the Council millions of dollars.
Throughout recent years, there have been many issues at the Council surrounding leased properties.
Just last month, the quorum was at odds over the Water Street, Georgetown training complex, which remains unused since 2014. While some councillors were of the belief that the building should be leased to garner much-needed revenues, others disapproved the price offered. City Hall had received a proposal of $1.5M per month for the said spot.
In 2018, during the Commission of Inquiry, it was heard that former Town Clerk Royston King leased lands to Quick Shipping Incorporated. This plot of land was not owned by the Council but rather the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).
It was alleged that King leased the land located at Lot 1 Mudflat, Lombard Street for a price of $625,000 per year since 2016.
NICIL would have provided statements to the Commission stating that they acquired the property in 2002. The Guyana National Engineering Corporation (GNEC) would have vested all of its assets to NICIL and they became the lawful owner.
While a letter was issued to NICIL for permission, it was insinuated that King did not submit the document to the Council for deliberations as was mandatory.
On another note, King verified that this matter was never brought to the attention of the Council since he has the power to ensure all of the Council’s properties are effectively managed.

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