This official has become an untouchable monster

Apr 07, 2014 Letters

Dear Editor,
I am appalled to see how an official at the Lands and Surveys Department is trying to defend himself and the Surveyors who I will refer to as his agents.
Firstly, I would like to make it clear to that this particular official is boasting of the powers he has that was given to him by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr Robert Persaud MBA (LoL) since he was the Minister of Agriculture.
He is also boasting that he can do whatever he likes since he has done favours for the PPP under the Jagdeo regime. One that he is particularly boasting about is that of the transfer of the lease a particular entity to another without the selling party having to pay the fees for the sale of the property in accordance with the terms and conditions outlined in the lease.
This official has become an untouchable monster in the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission and brings disgrace to the Surveying Profession in Guyana. There are many skeletons in his closet if one is to investigate. He is presently encouraging his friends who pays him plenty money and finance his overseas trips to buy up property in the Moblissa area in the Region 10 District from poor farmers.
He has provided lands for his rich friends in the Intermediate Savannah and charges them huge sums of money for carrying out their cadastral survey. This official refuses to implement all the procedures, policies etc that were developed by the consultants under the Guyana Land Administration Support Project and the Land Use Planning Project that were financed with donor funds from UK under the DFID, the IDB and the EU.
These grants funds are wasted since Lands and Surveys is not implementing any of the work done under these projects. These are just a few things I want to highlight to you. I will now address the issue of the cost of the surveying that this official is trying to justify.
Firstly, this official manipulates the estimate provided by the Lands and Surveys Commission in collaboration with the Surveyors from the Surveying Department and other Surveyors within Lands and Surveys so that the cost will be high.
Secondly, he informs the clients to get estimates from other private surveyors and he will mostly refer them to the Professional Surveyors who he knows will have high cost and provide a fairly high estimate.
Thirdly, he will then review the estimates and provide his estimates under the name of the Surveyors he used to do his private work. His estimates will be lower than all because he will use the commission resource which includes instrument, vehicles, finance and human resources to do the job.
Basically he does the work at no cost to him since he will arrange some other field work within the area to send his mostly liked Surveyors who will undertake the private work at the said time.
I am very displeased as a Surveyor to see the reputation of the Surveying Professional going down the drain. I had written to the Chairman of the Board on this matter which I am appending to this letter for your information and publication since it is time that the nonsense is stopped at Lands and Surveys.
We the Private Surveyors are at a disadvantage when a person like this particular official is at Lands and Surveys holding key position, has access to vital information and uses it for his personal benefit and enjoys the accreditation from this government.
I am copying the President, the other Media and the Leader of the Opposition Parties this letter since it seems like the Government will cover up this matter.
Concerned Surveyor

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