Town Clerk briefing self on lease of Govt. reserve – COI hears

Nov 04, 2018 News

Town Clerk Royston King recently admitted knowing the owners of a mining company, who claim to have made payments directly to him to lease a portion of government reserve along Aubrey Barker Road, North Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
King made the admission on Friday during his appearance at the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the operations of City Hall.
Chairman of the CoI, Retired Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Cecil Kennard asked King if he knew the names Ingrid and Brian Chase. King in his response stated that the names ‘ring a bell.’
Kennard indicated to King that he was inquiring about the matter since a copy of a letter and other supporting documents from the Chases addressed to City Mayor Patricia Chase-Green was sent to the CoI.
“Mr. Chairman, could I ask to perhaps do something in writing to you on that particular matter. I am now briefing myself on that particular issue,” King stated.
At this point, King’s lawyer, Maxwell Edwards intervened. He reminded King that he has legal counsel.
“When the Learned Commissioner asks you something you can ask the Learned Commissioner to consult with your lawyer….I could leave,” Edwards told King.
After consulting with Edwards, King stated that he has been advised that the question is not part of the terms of reference. He added that Edwards had not been briefed.
Kennard informed King that the Terms of Reference of the CoI provides for an investigation into any matter that may be brought to the attention of the Commission during the inquiry. Kennard stated that it was on that basis that he was asking the question.
“Mr. Chairman I am advised by my lawyer Mr. Chairman; therefore, I would not like to comment,” King stated.
King has been implicated in a highly suspicious deal where he reportedly collected $6.8M from Brian and Ingrid Chase Mining and Trucking for the sale of lands identified as Government reserve.
King is accused of diverting the monies from the land deal through his Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) and then attempting to cover his tracks by issuing a backdated lease for the property when he became Town Clerk.
The land is located along Aubrey Barker Road, North Ruimveldt.
Payment started in 2013 while King was serving as the Public Relations Officer of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC).
A document titled ‘License to Occupy Council Reserve Opposite Lot 1579-1580 Aubrey Barker Road North Ruimveldt – Guyana’ carries King’s signature as Town Clerk.
In July 2015, King was appointed Town Clerk. However, the first line of the lease document, which carries King’s signature as Town Clerk states, ‘that the Licence is made and entered into on this day of 24th July, 2012’.
The agreement appears to have been struck based on a payment of $1.8M, which was made through the city’s treasury department on February 22, 2017.
King, who was sent on administrative leave to facilitate the CoI, has dodged numerous allegations of corrupt dealings utilising taxpayer funds.
This latest information spotlights a transaction that started about two years prior to King’s appointment as Town Clerk.
He reportedly accepted over 15 payments in cheques and cash totalling $6.8M from the mining company.
Kaieteur News is in receipt of copies of the cheques and payment vouchers from the mining company, which indicate that King used the NGO, Environmental Community Health Organisation (ECHO), to secure the payments.
Before his appointment as Town Clerk, King identified himself as the Executive Director of ECHO, writing letters to the media and leading protests calling for transparency and accountability in the extractive sector.
The owners of the mining company are contending that they knew and trusted King, who identified himself as the head of ECHO. Further, the owners indicated that King identified himself as the owner of the land, and they entered into an agreement to buy the strip of land for $7M.
The payments for the transactions reportedly started on April 15, 2013, with a cash payment of $200,000 – said to be legal fees.
The payments continued in May 2013 with a Scotiabank cheque from the mining company issued to ECHO in the amount of $300,000.
By the end of November 2013, there were seven subsequent payments by cheque made out directly to ECHO. Among them were a $700,000 transaction and two $500,000 payments.
According to records, the mining company had prepared a cheque dated December 5, 2013 in the name of ECHO.
However, the NGO’s name was scratched from that cheque and replaced by the name ‘Royston King’. However, the payment voucher indicates that the cheque was paid to ‘Royston King for ECHO’ and bears King’s signature as uplifting the payment.
This was the first time in the transaction that King’s name appears among the cheques.
The company executives have stated that they were told to make the payment in ECHO’s name, but when King became Town Clerk, they were told to make those payments directly to him.
According to company executives, they started work on the land, but were stopped by the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission. The agency has since identified itself as the owner of the property.