Businessman admits to leasing disputed land from City Council

Oct 02, 2018 News

The disputed riverfront land leased to Quick Shipping Inc.

Proprietor of Quick Shipping Inc, Paul Sandy, has admitted that the riverfront land he leased from City Council is being claimed by at least two other entities.

Testifying before the Commission of Inquiry,(CoI) into City Hall, Sandy admitted to using the unfinished wharf to dock his vessels despite the controversy over who owns the land.

The businessman told the Commission that he spent “millions of dollars” improving the wharf, which was once occupied by pigs.

The repairs included clearing and back filling the wharf. Sandy noted too that he has already been paying a rent of $645,000 annually since 2017 , when the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Government’s holding company for state assets, and the Guyana National Industrial Corporation,(GNIC) came forward claiming ownership of the properties.

According to information, Sandy revealed to the Commission that both GNIC and NICIL, claimed to have separate leases and transports for the same property,

The issue caused Chairman Justice Cecil Kennard to emphasize the importance of finding the rightful owner of the property.

“Both entities can‘t have leases and transports to the land .It has to be one or the other; a lease or a transport. It further confuses the issue of who are the real owners of this land,” he said.

The Chairman therefore noted that representatives of both NICIL and GNIC should be called to testify before the commission to bring clarity to the issue.

The plot of riverfront land, reportedly not the property of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, (M&CC), was leased to a shipping company by Town Clerk, Royston King.

King has reportedly been collecting a yearly rent from the tenants, despite the dispute surrounding the piece of real estate.

The issue is among the list of complaints, which will be investigated by CoI into the administrative affairs of City Hall.

Further inquiries revealed that the Lot 1 Mud Lot, Lombard Street, Georgetown property, was leased to Quick Shipping Inc. since April 5, 2016 at the cost of $625,000 per year.

NICIL is said to have raised an objection over the Town Clerk’s leasing of the Wharf Front Land.

NICIL noted that King had no authority to lease the land. The shipping company subsequently wrote NICIL requesting permission to rent the land. But King never revoked his lease to the company. As a result, NICIL filed a complaint with the Local Government Commission, (LGC) over the matter.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News