…Ramotar admits CJRCI occupied Red House without a lease
…confirms Jagdeo rejected applications thrice
…says his signature was not required to validate agreement

FORMER President Donald Ramotar, while dodging the question of whether Bharrat Jagdeo had rejected three applications for the leasing of Red House to the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre Incorporated (CJRCI) as president, admitted in the High Court that CJRCI had occupied the historic building in the absence of a valid lease.

The former Guyanese President, who served from November 2011-May, 2015, was grilled in the High Court as he was being cross-examined by the Attorney General Basil Williams on Thursday in a case brought against the present government over its decision to revoke the purported 99-year lease from CJRCI.

In the matter being presided by Acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire, Ramotar, in the presence of his attorney, Anil Nandlall, confirmed his sworn affidavit dated January 30, 2017 and maintained that he approved the 99-year lease of the Red House, situated in High Street Kingston, to the CJRCI.

The immediate past President told the court that after the CJRCI was incorporated as a not-for-profit company in 2000 by himself – a founding member, and the late former President Janet Jagan, and her daughter Nadira Jagan-Brancier, he explored the possibility of entering into a lease agreement with the government to access the Red House. It was explained that it was the intention of the founding members to establish a library and research facility to showcase the work of the late President, Cheddi Jagan.

According to Ramotar, at the time, he was unaware that the Red House falls under the purview of National Trust of Guyana. Jogging the memory of the former President with supporting evidence, the attorney general asked him to confirm, one, whether the Red House Lease Agreement was signed on March 30, 2012. Ramotar responded in the positive.

It was at this stage that the attorney general sought to question the former President on the Chairman of the Management Committee of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre Incorporated (CJRCI), Hydar Ally, but was met with objection by Nandlall.

Nandlall, in his client’s defence, told the court that the witness was appearing in the capacity of former President but even before he could have concluded his statement, the chief justice made it clear that Ramotar inserted himself into the matter when he tendered a sworn affidavit. Nandlall, at the start of the hearing, had raised the issue of presidential immunity but was reminded that the former President was not charged or sued but rather is simply a witness in the matter.

The chief justice also cautioned the attorney general about his line of questioning, stating that he cannot question Ramotar on information provided to the Court by Ally.
Adjusting his question, the attorney general asked Ramotar whether the Cheddi Jagan Research Institute in 2000 took possession of the Red House, though there was no finalised lease agreement.

Ramotar, while responding in the positive, said though there was no lease agreement in place between 2000 and 2011; approval had been granted to occupy the Red House. “I am not aware of what is stated in the court document but I am aware that they (CJRCI) entered (Red House) before the lease,” Ramotar told the Court while adding that he could not recall the exact date.

Jogging his memory again in the process, the attorney general then grilled the former President on an application made to the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys on May 2, 2006 for the lease of the Red House. Ramotar had filed the application on behalf of the centre. Though confirming his signature on the application, Ramotar told the Court that he was not involved in the day to day running of the institute. Interjecting again, Nandlall objected to the line of questioning put to the witness, noting that the issue at hand was the validity of the 2012 lease, and not the undertakings of the research institute prior to 2012.

Fielding another round of questions from the attorney general, who attempted to ascertain whether the then President, Bharrat Jagdeo, in 2006 had rejected CJRCI’s application, Ramotar maintained that the institute had gotten permission to occupy the Red House. “What I can say is that the institute was there with permission but I cannot say why Mr. Jagdeo did not sign the lease,” he said while adding that “I don’t know if that is disapproval but he did not sign.”

A second application to lease the Red House was made in 2010 but as in the case of the first application, it was not sanctioned by then President, Jagdeo. On January 11, 2011, a third application was filed. The attorney general repeatedly suggested to Ramotar that his predecessor had refused to sanction the applications.

“I don’t know that he disapproved….I will say that he did not sign. I don’t know that he disapproved,” Ramotar repeatedly said, in his response to the questions put to him.
In November, 2011 the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) had once again won the General and Regional Elections, and Ramotar was elected President. The attorney general put to Ramotar that as President, following in the footsteps of Jagdeo, he did not sign the lease, though it was granted by the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) on March 30, 2012.

Responding in the negative, Ramotar explained he approved the application by the CJRCI for the leasing of the Red House when it was brought to him along with several other applications by the then commissioner of lands.
“I did not go looking for the application,” the former President told the Court. He noted too that though he did not sign onto the application, he had given his approval. “I didn’t sign the approval,” Ramotar maintained while explaining that he had sanctioned the application by instructing the then Commissioner of Lands and Survey to approve it.

In summing up his arguments, the attorney general maintained that the Red House lease agreement was initiated without the approval of either the President of the Day or The National Trust of Guyana, which is in contravention of Section 10 of the Lands Department Act Chapter 59:01, rendering it void. Nandlall, however, in his rebuttal, argued that the legislation speaks to “sanction” but does mandate a written signature or a written approval.

The lease entered by the then Commissioner of Lands and Survey on behalf of the Government of Guyana, and by Ralph Ramkarran, S.C., on behalf of the CJRCI, was issued under Section 10 of the Lands Department Act, Chapter 59:01 for property with a duration of 99 years, commencing on January 1, 2012 at an annual rental of $12,000 for the first three years, and with the proviso that the government could revise the annual rent payable at the end of every three years.

The Red House is established in The National Trust of Guyana Monuments Register as a Public Building/National Monument/Heritage Site.
On Thursday, the attorney general was accompanied by a battery of lawyers including the Solicitor General, Kim Kyte-Thomas. The current Commissioner of Lands and Surveys, Trevor Benn was present along with his legal team.

The High Court will make its final ruling on December 17, 2018.