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The Co-operative Movement of Belle Vue is under threat
Dear Editor,
Can you please publish this letter, so that the President and Prime Minister and the public will see the dilatory behaviour of the Chief Co-operative Development Officer-CCDO and Officials from the Ministry for Social Protection.
It appears that the Minister for Social Protection and the Chief Co-op Department Officer(s) are ignoring and refusing to uphold the Laws of Guyana, Chapter 88:01; Co-op Societies and the Belle Vue Cane farmers’ Marketing Co-o Society , Reg # 967 Rules to defend and protect the legitimate members’ rights to their land and the Belle Vue Co-op Society.
While the Chief Co-op Development Officer, Ms. Paulina Gifth, and Minister Keith Scott are ignoring and refusing to have a members meeting with us, the legitimate members, it was reported, they are holding meetings with this person and his paid agents.
That is causing division, disruption and destruction of our Co-op Society.
Mr. Deodat Deokenandan and his agents have brought garbage, which included broken concrete blocks, light bulbs, plastic, etc. and dumped it beside our co-op cultivation gates, so that the gate cannot close to prevent stray animals from going in and destroyed our crops.
Last week, after a meeting between Minister Scott, Mr. Aubrey Norton, Mr. Francis Ferreira, Mr. Satesh Rajpat, in field # 3-Belle Co-op Office. Mr. K. Scott and Mr. Norton told the members present at this meeting, that they will talk to Mr. Deodat to stop coming to Belle Vue Co-op Society cultivation and stop using his Hymac/excavator to destroy members’ crops.
Is Mr. Deodat looking for confrontation with us, our family and our Farm workers or what?
Later the same day after this meeting, Mr. Deodat and his agents started to install post and barbwire around Field # 3 to Field # 11, saying that nobody can stop him to occupy these land. He said during his argument with the members/farmers, that “Minister K. Scott told him to continue building the fence”. Minister Keith Scott is this true or false? We are waiting for your answer.
The Belle Vue Co-op Members and their family will like to know if there are two sets of rules and Laws in Guyana, one for the people with money and one for the poor peasant farmers.
The Police at Wales Police Station are telling the farmers, that they can do nothing to stop Mr. Deodat and his agents from destroying their crops and fencing the land. Two weeks ago, a detective from La Grange Police Station came to Sister Masjid and call out Mr. I. Hassan, who is the Belle Vue Co-op Society Vice Chairman.
Then this police officer told Mr. Hassan that Mr.Doedat told him that he has a bogus and false Belle Vue Co-op land lease and he wants to see it. This Sisters Masjid is approximately 150 rods from Wales Police Station, so we will like to know, why police from Wales Police Station did not come.
For the record, we have 25 years collective land lease, in the name of the Belle Vue Cane farmers’ Marketing Co-op Society, Reg # 967, started in February 2010.
Two things can happen, either the Hon. President David Granger and the Government intervene and return all the lands to our Co-op Society, then expel all the people who claim to buy membership and land during the period 2010-2015.
Further, they must then reinstate all the members who were wrongfully terminated, that want to continue with farming. Then the Government help our co-op and members to seek financial compensation losses caused by these non-members.
We got a few acknowledgements from the Office of the President, stating that the Hon. President D. A Granger acknowledged our letters and petition. He has forwarded our information to Minister R. Bulkan, Minister of Communities, directing him to intervene and rectify the issues and malfeasance that are affecting the members and our Co-op Society.
Since Wales Estate stopped producing sugar at this factory, our members have been meeting regularly and have decided to go into other crop farming.
In 2017, over 40 of our 55 members in our Co-op Society have been doing other crop farming within four fields of our cultivation in phase 1.
Now we are ready to do phase 2, that is to clean the other fields and do permanent crops, animals, chicken rearing, fish farming, etc. But for now, we are being prevented to implement our phase 2, by Mr. Deodatt Deokenandan, his family and paid agents.
We need help and protection now!
Thank you,
Concerned and affected co-op members.
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