CAN you please publish this letter in your widely read newspaper to help expose the corruption, injustices and threats on the Belle Vue Cane Farmers and their representatives in the Belle Vue Cane Farmers’ Marketing Cooperative, West Bank Demerara. Mr. Kareem A. Jabar, the Chief Cooperative Development Officer– said: “I am getting political pressure not to intervene and investigate the Belle Vue Co-operative Society members’ complaints, and their request to file an injunction against the Belle Vue Cooperative Committee and Deodat Deokeanand”. Minister Nadir, if this is not true, can you please inform the Chief Cooperative Officer to do his job and take over this cooperative management and file an injunction against Deodat and his touts ASAP.
Minister Nadir, why did you intervene in the Port Mourant Cooperative but seem very reluctant to intervene in the Belle Vue cooperative?                                                                                                                       This is an extract from one of Guyana’s daily newspapers on, (GINA press release)what you Mr. Nadir said about cooperative. According to Nadir: “We are not picking on Port Mourant United just for the sake of picking on a society; we are ensuring that good governance and accountability remain.”  He said the Chief Cooperatives Development Officer, ministers, and Co-op Officers are obligated to investigate complaints into the co-ops as failure to do so would allow the Chief Co-operatives Officer of the ministry to step in and take necessary action’.  Minister Nadir also said the meeting was in keeping with the PPP/C’s 2006 manifesto of revitalizing cooperatives in order to benefit members. At the same Port Mourant cooperative meeting, Mr. Abdul-Jabar also said co-op societies belong to the members who should be handling their affairs in keeping with Chapter 88:01 of the laws of Guyana. However, if problems arise and the society is not managed in accordance with the Act, then there are regulations that give the Chief Co-op Officer the power to intervene to fix the problem and return it to the members. Jabar said, “Our aim is not to destroy societies, but  to manage and control co-ops to ensure that they function properly, according to the law, and in keeping with the objectives that they were registered to achieve,” he added.                                                                                                                                        It was wrong for this corrupt committee to terminate some memberships without due process and the selling off of the society’s land and membership to “Beardman,” a non-member. Was it legal for you, the minister to authoritatively reverse the decision of the Chief Cooperatives Officer without an investigation and request from the membership? It appears that there are double standards and abuse of powers to overrule and reverse the decision of the Guyana Chief Cooperative Development Officer.
Based on the July 22, 2010, information in the Kaieteur News, Mr. Jabar did the right and legal thing, by seizing control of the Belle Vue Co-op Society, because of the numerous complaints, malfunction, corruption and illegal selling of  the society’s assets, land and membership, etc.., etc….
When Mr. Jabar took over this society, he appointed an interim management team, and he instructed and mandated them to restore land seizures from the members and investigate all financial transactions between January 2009 to the present. Mr. Jabar also said that’ all controversial issues that are troubling the co-op will have to be investigated and fixed, with fresh elections within six months.’
It was reported one week after the Chief Coop Officer took over control and appointed an interim committee. Minister Nadir came and reversed this decision of the chief cooperative officer. See July 22nd & 28th 2010 Kaieteur Newspaper.
Minister Nadir, what is the technicality or error the Officer made? Because while you and the cooperative department are dragging your feet and ignoring the Belle Vue farmers’ concerns, rights and their welfare, the present corrupt committee is continuing to demoralise the members and allow “Beardman” to trespass on the society’s land and also the committee is allowing him to create expenses and then bill the members. Now “Beardman” is boasting openly and threatening and scaring the farmers into selling more membership and land to him. This corrupt committee is lying and misleading you, by saying that the producing members did not want, nor request and apply for the abandoned land. They have in the society’s office, copies of written and verbal requests /applications from some of the long-serving and producing members/farmers and their representatives to acquire more land and increase their acreages but were not given a chance to do so. The corrupt committee sold the land to “Beardman”, an outsider and non-member. He said, he is not interested in a cooperative society and would break/split up this cooperative society. Now after the members are complaining and signing  another petition against this illegal land sale to “Beardman”, the committee are changing their words and actions and now are saying that they sold the land to 15 persons and not to one person. “Beardman” said that he has money to fill a few cane punts and can buy any official.  That he’s already bought off Minister Nadir and other officials. “Beardman” told Balkarran that he paid M. Inshan, Namee and other committee members over G$25million for the society’s land. Based on Inshan’s letter that was published on March 31st in the Stabroek News letter column, in paragraph 6, Inshan wrote that 15 non-active members owe the society G$2,750,216 dollars. So what happened to the difference and who has the difference of this money that “Beardman” claims he paid to Inshan, Namee and the committee?                                                                                                                                           It appears that the minister and others in authority are using a ploy, to delay any intervention and to allow and give “Beardman” a lot of time, to grab as much land as possible from the society, by delaying this injunction and investigation. The bona fide and producing members do not want “Beardman” to get none of the society’s land. He and his paid touts’ membership must be cancelled/terminated now and they must be made to leave the society land; also remove this corrupt committee and secretary/clerk immediately. Using the 2009 membership register,  let the members elect a  new committee and with the help of the chief cooperative officer to assess and verify the cost of the damage “Beardman” and this corrupt committee did to the members and the cooperative and make him pay the society and members.  Minister Nadir, can you speak up and do justice for the Belle Vue society and members? Mr. Deodat and his paid touts are not only trespassing, they are violating the cooperative Act, laws and rules, custom and practice,  and he is very greedy, immoral and very hostile to the members and their representatives. Look, Wales Estate and Guysuco gave “Beardman”a 50-year lease for approximately 400 acres of land in Red Wing Polder, Canal # 2., West Bank Demerara. In 2009 Mr. Sharma, his TV crew and Minister Robert Persaud did a field trip on this land. “Beardman” was on record, CNSTV, claiming he is planting citrus, katahar, breadfruit, etc… on this land and that this produce will be exported to North America. Now, it is rumoured, that “Beardman” sold this 50-year lease and land to a construction company. So now “Beardman” feels he can use the money to carry out bullying tactics, bribery, threats and vulgarity to trespass and illegally occupy the Belle Vue farmers’ land. “Beardman” openly, without any fear is threatening some farmers to kill them, cursing and using indecent language on them and causing great fear, anxiety, frustration, demoralisation and disunity in the cooperative and among the members. Some farmers and their representatives are saying that they are afraid to go into the fields alone because of these threats.
“Beardman” on a daily basis, is boasting that nobody can remove him from  this cooperative and is threatening and cursing many of the cooperative members and representatives to fix them up, and kill them and bury them in the backdam if he loses any of this land and money he paid.  
One morning, I was standing on the last street bridge, in front of the Lutheran Church in Belle Vue and “Beardman” drove up his vehicle and jumped out in front of me and started to shout and curse/using indecent language and pointing his finger in my face saying that he would kill me if I go ahead with the petition to get members to sign and go against him . He said, that Ramphal, Inshan and others from Belle Vue will have to go to Georgetown and pick fair to get money to pay him back. He said he already has affairs with some persons’ wives in Belle Vue and he will have more of them later. I did not argue with him, and told him I will report these threats to the police, if he does not stop. Then “Beardman” went away and came back about half an hour later. While I was speaking to the supervisor and  some workers beside Dara house at the last street head, “Beardman”  came again and started to curse, using indecent language and pointing to Ramphal, saying  that, ‘ask Ramphal the supervisor, if he does not come to me for money. When he wanted to fix his teeth, he came and I give him money to pay for it. Another time he needed boots and I gave him money to pay for it, ’so he owes me and cannot go against me’.
Three days later one of his touts came to me and said “Beardman”  told him to tell me that if I don’t back off , I will get hurt, and said he (“Beardman”) has money to hire one or two of the best law firms in Guyana to defend him. It was reported, that “Beardman” also threatened Mr. Francis Ferreira and Mr. Wilfred Mangal and he got his lawyer to send out letters to Mr. Sooklall Kheyman to sue him for G$10M for damages, (see lawyer letter to Sooklall), and few days later “Beardman” came to Mr. Sooklall’s house and offered to buy his cane land. 
Minister Nadir, is this not blackmail, scare tactics and intimidation? Mr. Wilfred said he reported the threats to Wales Police Station but no action was taken. Later, he went and reported these threats to the Region # 3 Commander. The Commander promised to get the Inspector from La Grange Police Station to go and investigate these threats and warn “Beardman.”
The farmers are hoping that the police will investigate this report and charge “Beardman” so that he will not continue the hostility toward them Instead of “Beardman” making peace, it was reported that he got his lawyer to send a registered letter to Mr. Wilfred, warning him, that if he Wilfred does not withdraw his false statement he made against his client, at Wales Police Station he will sue Mr. Wilfred.
Where is the legal and social justice for the cane farmers and people of Belle Vue Cooperative?  “Beardman” and his son are doing a lot of unnecessary work like grading and damaging farmers’ canes to make roads inside the fields and inside the cultivation to show the minister, so that he can get over these lands and /or get some form of payment. But in reality, “Beardman” is trespassing and damaging the farmers’ dam bed canes and the layout of the fields, road, etc…. The cooperative department must and should file an injunction against “Beardman” now and cancel all the land deals and give it back to the society. Estimate the damage “Beardman” has done to  members’ lands, dam beds  and layout of the fields, hurt and  stress on the farmers’ health and even death of some farmers because of stress, so that “Beardman” and his clique are legally forced to compensate the society, farmers and their families. The Chief Cooperative Development Officer has legal authority to take over this cooperative society, hold an investigation on all the complaints and alleged irregularities, do an audit and later use the 2009 membership record to have an election.
If the cooperative department fails and cannot do their duty, then the members of the Belle Vue Cane Farmers’ Marketing Cooperative Society, Registration # 967, want President Jagdeo and his Cabinet to intervene now and cancel, all the illegal land and membership sales to Deodat, etc…. Also set up an all-party parliamentary committee to investigate Minister Nadir’s action and Mr. Jaba’s statement about political interference, that is preventing him from doing his duty.                                                                                                                                                                                         Belle Vue Cooperative Society and members do not need “Beardman” to develop their lands. With the new lease from GUYSUCO, vision and the five-year investment and development plan, this cooperative society will be able to secure an agri-loan, grant, etc to invest in cane punts, tractor, rehabilitation of fields, etc so that the society  and its members can increase cane production and income for themselves and their families.
All for social justice, law and order and alleviation of rural poverty.