…says company owes over $700M in taxes

OVER $700 million in rates and taxes is owed to the City by the Livestock Development Company (LIDCO), which led to a move to demolish one of the company’s properties on Cowan Street Kingston.

The demolition was halted. The Cowan Street property is currently being overseen by the company’s Chairman, Vic Oditt. The property is currently being utilised by Jus Waters, for which Oditt is the Managing Director. Oditt is a shareholder in LIDCO, for which shares are also owned by the government, reportedly through NICIL, as well as through the Ministry of Education (MoE). The taxes the company owes is said to be for a period of over 20 years.
Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine, explained that the municipality has been in discussions with the company for approximately a month about monies owed to the Mayor and City Council (MCC), and noted that approval cannot be granted for works of any nature to be carried out on any property in the City for which taxes is still owed.

“It’s over $700 million owed to the council in compound interest and principal for every year. It’s across many years, over 25 years to 26 years,” Narine related. Narine says he has no issues with Oditt, nor works or plans for the company or the property, but the city must get what is owed to it.

“I have no problem with Mr Oditt nor LIDCO, or how they intend to remodel their building. I am just fighting for the right amount of taxes that they owe us at the MCC,” Narine said. He said it was that reason that prompted him to visit the property last Saturday, after he witnessed works continuing on the property. Narine said notwithstanding the engagements for an arrangement for the payment of the rates and taxes owed, no agreement has been settled on; hence demolition works at the property were halted.

“We had a meeting on how we would go about with this matter. He showed me several letters he wrote to this government and previous government, and not getting anywhere with it. He said he wanted to do some work, but we did stop him because [Chapter] 28:01 clearly states that no work can be done on a property if you owe rates and taxes,” Narine further explained.

Oditt argued that it was a cleaning exercise and not demolition works that were being carried out at the site over the weekend. Oditt said it is the lack of an approved building plan that caused the ‘cease work’ on the property.

“The Mayor and his officers have requested that we stop construction which we have and what we are doing is cleaning out the garbage today when the Mayor came. The reason they said we must stop construction is we need a plan for all works including internal works, I told them in that case they need to charge the whole of Georgetown, but still we halted and haven’t done any additional work to the building since,” Oditt explained
Mayor Narine explained that once an arrangement is made to get that money paid out, and the company complies with the By-laws of the City, and building plans are presented to the City engineer, the company will be able to continue its demolition without any interference from the MCC.

Narine said he has reached out to the other shareholders of LIDCO for a way forward on having the monies paid. “It’s a three party something, and the government has to play a role as well, because to my understanding LIDCO has no money,” Narine said.
MOE Permanent Secretary, Alfred King, however, said he did not know of the MOE having any stake in LIDCO, but the Ministry’s records are being searched for any evidence of shares in the company.