Pradoville 2 probe…Two more allottees willing to pay market value for land

Mar 20, 2017 News

By Brushell Blackman

Two officials who bought lands at the controversial Pradoville 2 scheme have indicated that they are now amenable to paying the market value for those lands. Previously, former Minister of Natural Resources Robert Persaud said that he is ready to pay the market value.
According to a high level source, the investigation is proving very embarrassing to the individuals and they are now looking to bring closure to the issue by paying the government what they should have paid in the first place.
The source said that under the circumstances, this route might be the sensible one to pursue, since the two individuals were not involved in the decision making with regards to the price that was charged for the house lots. According to the source, the change in position by the two high level officials stems from the fact that they learnt that sugar workers bought lands for $500 per square foot whilst lands at Pradoville 2 were sold at $114 per square foot.
This development apparently tugged at the moral conscience of the two individuals and they are now ready to put the controversy to rest. However, according to the source, an independent valuator has decided the price for the house lots and then a decision will be made.

A section of ‘Pradoville 2’

According to a source at the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) the individuals are free to decide what they want to do but the route they are looking to pursue is a civil one. The source at SOCU said that the investigation they are conducting is a criminal one and the legal authorities will have to decide if criminal acts were committed. If so, the charges will be laid.
The source also said that the individuals can very well pay the market value for the house lots but they can still be hauled before the court for committing a criminal act. On the other hand, the official indicated that the commitment to pay the market value can work favorably for those individuals in a criminal matter.
To date, SOCU has questioned General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board, Lisaveta Ramotar, daughter of former President Donald Ramotar; former Natural Resources Minister, Robert Persaud; former Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Dukhoo; former deputy head of National Investment and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Marcia Nadir Sharma, and Dr Gansham Singh; the son of former Minister of Labour, Dr. Nanda Gopaul, former Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Former President Bharrat Jagdeo, former Minister of Housing Irfan Ali, former Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, former Minister of Tourism Sheik Baskh, former Minister of Labour Nanda Gopaul, former Public Service Minister Jennifer Westford and Taslim Baskh, former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA).

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