‘Pradoville 2’ deal to be re-examined
– Minister Scott
The new Government is set to examine details of how a large plot of prime seaside property was secured by the Bharrat Jagdeo administration, later developed, and then parceled off for almost next to nothing to a few friends and Government officials. Yesterday, Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Keith Scott, who is charged with housing, said he had taken note of a lead story in yesterday’s edition of Kaieteur News, which revealed details of the beneficiaries of the exclusive community known to Guyana as ‘Pradoville Two’.
Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Keith Scott
“Obviously we are concerned about the details of the transactions involving this piece of property. Was it in keeping with the established regulations? Was it advertised? How much was paid? We have to look at all this.” According to Scott, he intends to meet with the staffers of Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) “shortly” to discuss the issue. “We are examining a lot of other details at the moment. There are many citizens who are waiting anxiously to hear about their house lots and homes. So we are, of course, interested if persons were sidelined in the process or their rights trampled on. We will keep you updated as we acquire more information.” There is no evidence that regular citizens were even aware that the lands, located along the seawall at Sparendaam, East Coast Demerara, were available for housing. However, what is known is that the lands were parceled and state resources used to develop drains and install other infrastructure. There are few details as to what procedures were used to allocate the lots. Under regulations, homeowners are not allowed to purchase more lots from Government lands. It is unclear whether any Government or other officials who received lands in Pradoville Two, owned properties elsewhere. With few lands available on the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara for allocations, the Pradoville Two scheme has been galling house lot applicants.
Bharrat Jagdeo
Benefitted: Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack
Benefitted: Ramesh Dookhoo
Reportedly, there are almost 10,000 applications pending on file, leaving the new Government scrambling to find new lands for housing. TWO LOTS Jagdeo himself, according to details of allocations, received two parcels equivalent to two acres. On it, he built an imposing mansion, complete with pool and overlooking the seawall and the Atlantic Ocean. He paid a total of $9.8M. He had owned a property along the Ogle Airport Road in the community that was known as ‘Pradoville One’. However, he sold that property to Trinidadian advertising executive, Ernie Ross. There is no confirmation whether the former President paid the Capital Gains tax on the profits he made on sale of the mansion or whether the 10-year timeframe had passed in which he could have sold the property. Indeed, it was reported that the property was purchased by Ross for US$600,000 ($120M). In effect, Jagdeo paid three times less than what ordinary citizens in the Diamond and Grove Housing Schemes, East Bank Demerara, would have been required to fork out. Jagdeo’s payment for the Pradoville Two parcels translated to $5M per acre which works out at $114 per square foot; the ordinary man pays $317 per square foot for his plot. The sale of the Pradoville Two house lots for such a low price would contrast starkly with what remigrants had to pay under the Government’s scheme for returning to Guyana.
Remigrants paid ten times the price that former President Bharrat Jagdeo paid for house lots. Remigrants paid $1,111 per square foot to Jagdeo’s $114 per square foot.
Remigrants paid more than ten times the price Jagdeo paid for the same size house lot. They paid $1,111 per square foot. The ordinary house lots for remigrants and citizens are not ocean-front, but are located on the East Bank and East Coast of Demerara, in what were abandoned cane fields. Pradoville Two is located in an area known officially as Plantation Sparendaam and Goedverwagting Two. 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. DPP LOTS 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’s 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. To facilitate the construction of the scheme, the Jagdeo administration had ordered the removal of a transmitting tower of the state-owned National Communications Network (NCN), to the tune of millions. It was reportedly relocated to La Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara.
