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VP Jagdeo wants transparency in City Hall land sales
Vice President (VP), Bharrat Jagdeo is urging members of the City Council to take steps to implement a more transparent process to adequately conduct the sale of properties under its purview.
Vice President (VP), Bharrat Jagdeo.
Addressing concerns during a press conference on Tuesday, that “some persons,” attached to the council have been looking to sell off prime city properties without adequate approval from the appropriate authority in the Council itself. VP Jagdeo recommended that the transactions be made via public tender. “We understand that there is a cabal going around trying to find out about all the little bits of land that the City Council owns in the city, including on the waterfront, and they have been quietly trying to broker deals with individuals…” Jagdeo disclosed. He recommends that, “If the City Council wants to sell or lease its land out, it should go through a public process.
He explained that: “…Because the brokered deals are generating bribes for some of the people there and the City Council gets just a tiny fraction of the market value of the rental or the sale of the land …So the City Council cannot maximize its value.”
Jagdeo’s comments follow days after the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development announced in a statement that, along with other relevant governance bodies, they continue to monitor the Georgetown City Council. It was added that here appears to be “a nefarious scheme,” by “some members to undervalue and rapidly dispose of certain city properties. “This is despite concern expressed by the Government over previous attempts.
The Local Government Ministry, therefore, warned the City Council that it will not condone nor stand idly by, while they continue to pursue actions for negotiated disposal of the city’s assets in a manner that contravenes high standards of accountability, transparency, and adherence to the rule of law. As such, the Ministry noted that the reports are being taken with the utmost levels of seriousness, with the relevant authorities being placed on high alert to prevent the transaction(s) from being carried out.
“Members of the City Council must understand that Georgetown and its assets, though within the management ambit of the council, do not constitute personal property in part or whole and, therefore, cannot be sold off based on personal interests nor based on the whims and fancies of its members, and that these plans must cease forthwith,” the Ministry added in its statement.
Further, the Ministry called on the City Council to take careful note of the resolve of the Government on “this crucial matter and avoid the swift and decisive consequences that would be accorded to all parties if these nefarious and dubious deals being contemplated are carried out.”
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