– Gaskin urges gov’t to challenge $1.7B court ruling
ECONOMIST and public commentator Ramon Gaskin is adamant that government should challenge the recently awarded $1.7B in damages to Toolsie Persaud Limited (TPL) over a land dispute at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara.
Gaskin, in an invited comment, told the Guyana Chronicle the payment to the local company would be an added burden to taxpayers. “I really believe that the government should challenge, vigorously, this matter to reduce the burden on Guyana’s taxpayers.”
The former government adviser told the newspaper that he believes government should “go back to the beginning” and carefully assess its position, based on the manner in which TPL had acquired the land, what happened after the acquisition and how the property ended up in the hands of its current owners.
Gaskin said that it was during the 1980s and after the death of former President Forbes Burnham that privatisation and liberalisation became prevalent and assets were being sold at very low prices. Toolsie Persaud, whom he described as being close to the government which was led by then President Desmond Hoyte, received properties under that arrangement. Gaskin opined that after receiving the said property, the land was supposedly held in “speculation” since nothing had been done to develop it, until the former People’s Progressive Party administration sold parcels of the land to the current owners, again below market price.
Gaskin’s contention therefore is that taxpayers should not have to pay the massive damages awarded, when Toolsie Persaud reportedly acquired the land below market value, and now stands to receive close to $2B for property they paid little for and never developed. It was reported that in 2011, Multi-cinemas Guyana Incorporated purchased part of the land from the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) for over $150M, despite acquiring the lands through the Prescriptive Title process and the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Justice Brassington Reynolds ruled that the government of Guyana should pay Toolsie Persaud the $1.7B in damages, as well as $500,000 for the defendant’s court cost. But this ruling comes just after charges were laid against former Finance Minister Ashni Singh and former NICIL CEO Winston Brassington for ‘misconduct in public office, contrary to public law’.
Along with two similar charges, Singh and Brassington were charged that on May 14, 2011 by way of agreement of sale and purchase “acted recklessly” when they sold to Multi-cinemas Guyana Inc. 10, 002 acres of land, property of the State for the sum of $185, 037,000 without first having procured a valuation of the said property from a competent valuation officer.
Apart from the state, no longer owning the prime sea-front land, and losing proceeds because of the low selling price, Guyana will again lose if it pays the over $1.7B. Given these issues, Gaskin said the charged parties should prove their innocence in a court of law. He related that the disputed TPL land and other prime properties are very valuable. He opined therefore that, “These charges (against the former high- ranking government officials) are not frivolous. It involves hundreds of millions of dollars.” He said the government believes it was improperly sold and charges were laid. “You should now present your case to the Magistrates’ Court,” Gaskin insisted.
He questioned why attempts were being made to quash the cases against the former officials. “If you are innocent, why are you running here and there and doing all of this?” He said the matters involving the former minister and Brassington are serious and in the name of transparency, they should use the judicial system to prove their innocence.
On Monday, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said that the former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration has “left some deep dark holes” for the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government to fill, as he reacted to the High Court ruling ordering the government to pay over $1.7B in damages to TPL. According to Harmon, Cabinet has not deliberated on the ruling, and as such a position has not yet been taken on the way forward. ‘It is something which we will have to discuss as a Cabinet; but it just goes to show the levels to which this country had sunk under the PPP and the huge amount of debt that they have created for us. We have had no benefit whatsoever from that, the PPP sold the land to persons who are friendly to them at a price, so the benefit was with those persons, but now the burden becomes that of us that cannot be fair,” Minister Harmon lamented.
