…govt says will not overlook illegal acquisition of state assets

Government said justice must be served as the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) moves ahead with its investigation into the misappropriation of state assets regarding the sale of house lots at the so called Pradoville 2 scheme.
On Tuesday SOCU arrested former President Bharrat Jadeo and other top aides of his former administration.

In a statement issued Tuesday evening government also dismissed what it described as “spurious allegations of political vendetta and harassment” maintaining that SOCU is operating independently without any interference or direction. “…government notes SOCU’s meticulous, fair and independent work in investigating this immensely serious matter relating to state assets and looks forward to a thorough and comprehensive investigation and for the law to take its course and justice to be served,” the statement issued by the Department of Public Information read. Government also reaffirmed its stated position that the assets of the state belong to the people of Guyana and under no circumstances will it condone or overlook any action which resulted in the improper, illegal or unjust distribution of same.

Forensic audits done on the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) had revealed that some $257 million were spent on development of the Pradoville 2 housing project, and the value of land there should have been $82.8 million per acre, instead of the significantly less sum for which an acre was sold.

“Instead of accumulating all the costs associated with the Sparendaam Project — including the market value of the land — in a special account to be applied in arriving at the price to be charged per house lot, NICIL’s Board and Cabinet were complicit in charging the related costs of $257.049M to NCN in the form of equity investment, and to CH&PA in the form of receivables. “The fact that several key Cabinet members are the beneficiaries of the house lots renders it highly inappropriate for the very Cabinet to approve of the charging of the expenditure to the accounts of NCN and CH&PA,” the audit report stated.

The report said the use of a “conservative estimate of $985M for the 2009 market valuation of the land on which the Marriott has been constructed prior to infrastructure being undertaken on a similar size land (makes) the total value of the Sparendaam project work out to $1.242B or $82.8M per acre. This figure should have been used to compute the price per lot. It is not clear: (a) how many lots are involved, and their respective sizes; (b) the basis under which the recipients were selected; (c) how the price of approximately $1.5M per lot was determined; and (d) which entity — NICIL or CH&PA — received the proceeds from the sale of the plots”, the audit report disclosed.

Meanwhile, in its statement government said it had been informed of the ongoing investigations by SOCU, noting that the unit has conducted interviews with a number of agencies and individuals in relation to the ‘Pradoville 2’ Forensic Audit which was referred to the unit. SOCU, the Government said has conducted interviews with the Department of Housing, the Central Housing and Planning Authority, National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), the Betterhope/Sparendaam Neighbourhood Democratic Council, Guyana Power and Light, Guyana Water Inc, National Communications Network and various other agencies and individuals in an effort to, among other things, determine the market value of the Pradoville 2 complex. Interviews, the government has been informed, are ongoing.

“The Government has further been informed that specific individuals were invited to the SOCU Office at Eve Leary for questioning during the course of this week and that some of the individuals complied while some did not. The Government has been specifically informed that in the case of two prominent former government officials – former President Bharrat Jagdeo and former Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon – they declined to visit the SOCU office for questioning and were arrested, questioned and subsequently released on their own recognizance.”