Three days before 2011 elections… Ramotar’s close friend buys prime land at $0.5M per acre, others pay $4M-$9M per acre
The Diamond and Golden Grove housing schemes, East Bank Demerara, have been described as two of the largest in the country.
Initially, squatters started to take plots in the late 1990s before the Central Housing and Planning Authority started to take steps to regularize the area.
It was all cane lands belonging to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
Today, the two schemes have several thousand homes side by side. Despite its narrow roads and congestion, the two schemes have been touted as models of what other schemes should be like.
They boast a fire station, police station, shops and a number of commercial banks and insurance companies.
Lands in the two schemes are in high demand.
A low income house lot acquired in the 1990s and early 2000s cost a mere $90,000. That house lot is now selling for $3M and $4M.
One that cost $50,000 two decades ago will likely not go for less than $5M.
In 2011, CH&PA was telling house lot applicants who were clamouring for lands on the East Bank that there were none left. Applicants were getting lands in Providence, Herstelling, Farm and Covent Garden, but little in Diamond and Golden Grove.
As questions continue into the operations of CH&PA, it appears that entity had held onto a large plot east of the Golden Grove area.
Three days before the November 28, 2011 general elections, CH&PA entered into an agreement with Savitrie Qualander, Mohamed ‘Arafat’ Qualander and Saudia Qualander, principals of Queensway, a Water Street business place.
Mohamed Qualander is said to be a close friend of former President Donald Ramotar.
The agreement for Block 22A of Block Y, Golden Grove described the plot of land as being 35 acres,
The price was $18.375M or $525,000 per acre. Each acre could provide up to eight reasonably sized lots.
According to the agreement, the Qualanders were to pay $10M up front and the balance with the passing of the transport.
The price would raise eyebrows as other developers were made to pay between $4M and $9M per acre, further north on East Bank Demerara, in the Providence and Herstelling areas.
The agreement made it clear that the private housing developer has to build internal infrastructure and construct and sell homes only.
The developer was mandated to immediately mobilize and carry out infrastructural works, including access roads, bridges, culverts and drainage, and water and electricity networks.
The mobilization was supposed to take place before May 2012.
Signing the agreement on behalf of CH&PA was Chief Executive Officer, Myrna Pitt, while Mohamed Qualander signed on behalf of Queensway.
A visit to the area earlier this week determined that no work has been done or any home erected.
The transaction with Queensway is among more than 20 other transactions done by CH&PA with private others on the East Bank Demerara that are raising eyebrows. More than four years after the deals were signed, little activity has taken place.
There are no lands remaining on the East Bank Demerara for CH&PA to distribute for the more than 25,000 applications on file.
Under the previous PPP/C administration, it appeared that thousands of acres of lands under the authority of CH&PA and former Minister of Housing, Irfaan Ali, were given away for little or nothing.
The lands that were sold under questionable arrangements to the private developers are all considered prime real estate, worth billions of dollars at the current market rate.
On Wednesday, CH&PA Chairman, Hamilton Green, said he will be taking action next week after senior housing officials failed since December to hand over documents and agreements pertaining to the lands sold to the private developers.
There have been numerous complaints of citizens waiting for years for house lots.
CH&PA and its new Board of Directors have been coming under fire to take back the lands.
Last October, government officials carried out a surprise inspection on several plots in control of the developers and found that works were way behind.
The developers were ordered to a meeting and given until February to complete infrastructural works. It was also discovered that in addition to breaching their timelines, several of the developers also broke the agreements and sold lands to Guyanese who already owned properties.
Last week, the Land Allocation Committee – part of the CH&PA’s board – expressed frustration at the lack of information that was coming from senior officials of the authority.
The committee recommended that the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Denise King-Tudor, be sent on leave for refusing to cooperate.
The issue has been raised with a number of ministers, including Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan.
The Board of Directors is expected to meet next week to determine the way forward.
The Chairman says that several matters are currently under investigation, including the construction of scores of two-bedroom turn-key homes behind Providence.
The board has ordered that work be halted on the turn-key homes after numerous complaints of poor quality work.
CH&PA has been handling billions of dollars annually to carry out the housing programmes of government.