-released on $200,000 bail

FORMER Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) Trevor Benn, was, on Friday, released on $200,000 bail on a misconduct in public office charge which was laid in connection with the alleged illegal leasing of State lands.
Benn, 53, of Century Palms Gardens, Durban Backlands, appeared before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and was not required to plead to the charge. The charge allege that between January 1, 2018, and March 31, 2020, while being a Public Officer, that is to say, the Commissioner of Guyana Lands and Survey Commission, he willfully misconducted himself by causing the sum $27,000,000 to be paid by JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited for the lease of six acres of land at Plantation Ogle, East Coast Demerara, knowing at the time that the commission did not have the authority to lease the land and thereby granted a provisional lease on March 27, 2020, to the said engineering company without any description and this wilful misconduct amounting to a breach of the public’s trust, without any excuse or reasonable justification.

Benn was represented by Attorney-at-law Mark Waldron. The case was adjourned until March 31 and transferred to Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.
Benn’s service was terminated in February, after government announced that the powers delegated to the GL&SC by former President David Granger, to allow for the “sanctioning of renting and granting of leases, licences and permission of occupancy of all lands” had been revoked by President Dr. Irfaan Ali.
On August 7, 2020, the government announced that all public land deals made by the APNU+AFC administration since December 21, 2018, when a no-confidence motion was passed against it, are to be reviewed. On Wednesday, Benn, was arrested and questioned about various land deals executed under the former administration, including the leasing of the unidentified piece of land to JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited knowing that it belonged to the National Industrial Commercial Limited (NICIL).

The $27M was paid pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited, and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) for the leasing of State lands that are seemingly non-existent.
The MoU, which was seen by the Guyana Chronicle, was entered into by Benn and JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited on May 8, 2017.
The MoU states that the GL&SC commits to leasing JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited the land for a term of 50 years, with a rent of $200,000 per acre annually.
As part of the agreement, JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited was obligated to pay the $27M to GL&SC in two installments; one upon the signing of the MoU, and the balance on or before November 4, 2017 or the date of issuance of the lease, whichever was the earlier.
A provisional lease, dated March 27, 2020, states that permission was granted to JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited “under Section 7 (1) of the State Lands Regulations, made under Section 17 of the State Lands Act Chapter 62:02 with effect from 02-01-2020 on a tract of six acres of State Land, situated at Ogle, East Coast Demerara.

Applied for on the 08-05-2017 for “Industrial and Commercial Purpose”, the provisional lease further states that “final boundaries will be established upon the completion of a cadastral survey by the commission”.
The law firm representing JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited had written to the current Commissioner of the GL&SC (ag) Enrique Monize, in December last year, indicating that both installments were paid in full.
However, despite several months elapsing, a full State Land Lease was not issued. Monize, on January 28, 2021 wrote to the Attorney-General Anil Nandlall seeking guidance on the matter, “since the GL&SC lacks the experience capacity to deal with such sensitive issues”.
The Attorney-General, in a letter seen by this publication on the subject matter, advised Monize that the issuance of a provisional lease over lands which the GL&SC “has no ostensible authority” has raised serious criminal law implications, and may amount to the commission of several criminal offences.
“In these circumstances, I advise that this matter be immediately reported to the Criminal Investigations Department, Guyana Police Force, for investigations and possible onward transmission to the office of the Police Legal Adviser/Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice and/or charges to be filed,” the Attorney-General stated in the letter. He also advised that the attorneys-at-law representing JANICO Industrial Engineering Limited be informed accordingly.