GEORGETOWN Mayor Ubraj Narine has reportedly knowingly engaged in land fraud, as he received a house lot under the former APNU+AFC government despite already being the owner of properties elsewhere.

This was according to Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water Susan Rodrigues, during an airing of her weekly television show, “Making the Case.”

According to the minister, after the mayor had revealed during a live broadcast earlier this week that he owns property in Pigeon Island on the East Coast of Demerara, an investigation was launched to ascertain how he was then able to acquire other property in 2019 and then again through the ministry in 2020.

Rodrigues revealed that records showed Narine acquired property at Pigeon Island in 2015 and then another at Vreed-en-Hoop on the West Coast of Demerara in 2019 and later in Prospect, East Bank Demerara, in 2020.

“He was allocated land under the APNU+AFC coalition when they were trying to rig the elections. In the middle of rigging the elections they were busy helping themselves and they gave Ubraj Narine property in Prospect, even though he was already the owner of at least two properties,” Minister Rodrigues said.

This, she said, amounted to defrauding the system as regulations indicate that persons can only benefit from the government’s housing programme if they are not already the owner of land/property, whether through the ministry or privately.

When receiving land through the government, Minister Rodrigues said persons are given a document to sign, which states clearly that if the individual, their spouse or common-law partners are the owners or purchasers of immovable property, they are disqualified from accepting the allocation.

Rodrigues added: “And Ubraj Narine knowingly read this and signed this document, knowing that he already owned at least two properties prior to the allocation of this land from the Ministry of Housing under the APNU+AFC coalition when they were in office illegally.”

She went on to note that while the mayor wants to act as though he cares about squatters or poor persons and the people of the country, that is not the case.

Rodrigues further said that the land which he was allocated could have benefitted a vulnerable family. Documents show that Narine even benefitted from a sizeable discount on his property acquired through the coalition.

She related that the matter is something that authorities will have to investigate further to explore a remedy or legal action.

She reiterated: “So he knowingly lied… this document is false that he signed and so he may have to answer some questions and we’re going to have to look at ways in which we can reclaim this or there may be some remedies.”