… some Pradoville homeowners contacting SARA in bid to settle

SEVERAL former government ministers, officials or close associates of the-then People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration have been quietly making contact with the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) in a bid to settle accounts regarding their questionable acquisition of properties at Pradoville Two, located at Sparendaam on the East Coast of Demerara.

The Guyana Chronicle was reliably informed that some of the persons who visited SARA last month and have been seeking information on how they can correct the financial inadequacies regarding their properties include Guyana Manufacturing & Services Association (GMSA) executive member and former Private Sector Commission (PSC) chairman Ramesh Dookoo, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Hack, and former Natural Resources Minister Robert Persaud.

The controversial Pradoville 2 issue came to the fore when the Coalition government commenced several investigations into suspicious financial transactions of state officials that bordered or amounted to corrupt practices and/or abuse of office. It was found that several persons close to the last government had received prime seafront land belonging to the state at extraordinarily low cost.

It was reported that the Pradoville recipients, the majority of whom held very high positions within private or state organisations, received and later built posh or luxury homes on the properties after paying as little as $114 per square foot, while citizens were being made to pay as much as $500 a square foot for ordinary land.

It was reported, too, that the Pradoville arrangement was made under former President Bharrat Jagdeo shortly before he ended his two-term presidency in 2011.
Jagdeo’s property is easily the largest plot of land with the biggest mansion, equipped with a pool and other amenities. The Pradoville Two matter became even more controversial when it was related that tax payers’ money was used to develop the land, remove a transmitter belonging to the National Communications Network at a cost of around $100M to develop the scheme for the prominent persons going to live there.

There was even more controversy surrounding the seafront properties since there was no advertising of the state lands and it appeared that all the recipients who got property were handpicked by the-then government.
When the matter surfaced last year, the former natural resources minister had made it clear that he was ready to pay the true market value for his property. When contact was made with Dookoo yesterday, the businessman did not deny approaching SARA, but opted to make a comment on the matter at a later time.

Criminal charges were being contemplated for the Pradoville beneficiaries who were given the opportunity to make it right with the state; despite some of the homeowners selling the properties which they received at an extremely low cost for huge profits ahead of the legal time span that was required.

Those questioned over the Pradoville properties at the time were former Minister of Tourism Shaik Baksh; former Minister of Labour Dr Nanda Gopaul, former Public Service Minister Dr. Jennifer Westford, Taslim Baksh, former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA); former Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Dookhoo; former deputy Head of National Investment and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), Marcia Nadir-Sharma, and Dr Gansham Singh, the son of former Minister of Labour, Dr Nanda Gopaul; former Prime Minister Samuel Hinds; former Minister of Housing, Irfaan Ali; former Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand and former General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board, Lisaveta Ramotar, daughter of former President Donald Ramotar.

Twelve charges were recommended for former Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh; and former Head of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington for their roles in the unlawful land sale.

Both men are before the court for allegedly selling other state properties below market value. The recipients in those cases are again said to be close to the former government.
The Guyana Chronicle was told that following Singh and Brassington’s arrest and arraignment in court, more persons began contacting SARA to make the appropriate payments for their properties.