THE RED HOUSE FIASCO

Jan 04, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

The decision by the government to revoke the lease for the Red House, home to the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre Incorporated (CJRC) was pragmatic and wise. It is time for the government to get tough and deal with the utterly lawless and dishonesty by the leaders of the PPP.
The quest to establish a centre in the name of Cheddi Jagan to re-live his memory and spirit of the former President and founder of the PPP was sneaky. The Jagdeo regime refurbished the Red House and officially incorporated it into the CJRC on March 22, 2000 to commemorate Dr. Jagan’s 82nd birthday.
In a secret deal, the Jagdeo regime took possession of the Red House, a property owned by the state and secretly leased it for 99 years to the CJRC Board of Directors for $1200 per month. Based on market value, it would cost approximately $150,000 per month to rent the Red House. It is known that the last administration was involved in several underhanded deals. It has sold numerous state properties to relatives and friends below the market value.
Based on some recent information obtained by SARU, the former PPP administration has leased over 25 state properties for 99 years to relatives and friends. Therefore, the alleged attempt by the PPP to pilfer the Red House should surprise no one.
Having said that, the government should not have sent personnel from Office of the Presidency to take possession of the Red House ahead of the December 31, deadline, given to the staff to evacuate the building.
But the truth is Bharrat Jagdeo and the PPP leadership who claimed that the actions of the government is heinous and reprehensible, are disingenuous. All they have done was to arouse the people to their duplicitous character and their devious behaviour.
The lawless action by the PPP to illegally occupy the Red House for the past sixteen years cannot and must not be allowed to continue. The PPP leadership had been acting as bullies. It had over one year to reach an agreement with the government on this contentious issue, but dragged it out for no other reason than to score cheap political points.
Now that the government has decided to act, the PPP is crying foul and playing the victim which it is good at doing. But the truth is the PPP has hijacked the building in secret and cheap, with the eventual goal of owning it outright. But this government also has a major problem in communicating its ideas to the people. It seems that its public relations team is in a dysfunctional state.
However, the government is quite correct to respect the injunction granted by the Chief Justice to cease and desist from taking further actions at the Red House until the court renders a decision. In the end, the rightful owner of the property will get it. The PPP is not the rightful owner and neither is the government.
The Red House is State property; it belongs to the people. Any acquisition of it must be legal and be above board.
Concerning the Red House, the facts speak for themselves. It is not exactly known when it was built, but it was acquired by the British sometime in the mid-1920s and was home to six British Colonial Secretaries until the mid-1950s. From the 1960s to the late 1980s, the Red House housed several government departments before it was abandoned in 1990.
In 2000 it was re-claimed by the PPP which turned into a shrine in honour of Cheddi Jagan’s legacy. It is important for the public to know that the Jagans lived at the Red House for only three years, from 1961 to 1964.
It is typical of Jagdeo and his PPP cohorts to spread propaganda, untruths and distortion to make the public believe that the Jagans were the first occupants of the Red House. And for Jagdeo to say that the government will pay a heavy political price shows that he is playing dirty politics.

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