I wish to refer to the headline of Sunday Stabroek of April 18, ‘Lumumba netted millions in controversial land deal,’ with the strap line, ‘-bought from gov’t for $1.5 M, sold for S38M,’ and to the accompanying article in relation thereto published at pages 3 and 9 of the said newspaper. The clear and unequivocal intention of the writer of that article is to convey the impression to the public that I am corrupt and engaged in transactions involving assets of the state that are not above board. I do not regard this article in isolation.
It closely follows several articles published by the said newspaper in relation to a transaction between a mining company of which I am part and a Canadian company. Both of these transactions are legal, transparent and in compliance with conventional business methods. Yet, Stabroek News continues to publish stories regarding this transaction with a clearly sensational slant with the ulterior design to not only malign my character but to expose my family, and in particular my children, to ridicule, public embarrassment and danger.
In the circumstances, I have come to the inescapable conclusion that Stabroek News has declared an unmitigated vendetta against me to destroy not only my character but also my political career. I am a Member of Parliament, an Advisor to His Excellency, the President, and a Member of Cabinet and therefore the canons of professional journalism and ethics place upon Stabroek News the obligation and duty to at least solicit from me a comment before these stories are published. Not once have they attempted to do so. As a result, I am now forced to issue a response so that members of the public can hear my side of the story.
In the year 1992, under the People’s National Congress (PNC) government, I was allotted approximately ten thousand (10,000) acres of land by lease for agricultural purposes at Manarabisi on the right bank of the Canje River, Berbice. Shortly after the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration assumed office. I was requested by then President Dr Cheddi Jagan, to relinquish approximately four thousand (4,000) acres of land to be made available to the cattle farmers in the area. By this time, I had already expended millions of dollars in surveying, engineering designs and feasibility studies for the cultivation of rice or sugar. Notwithstanding, I willingly agreed to give up the 4.000 acres of land on the sole condition that another plot of land be made available to me.
In pursuance thereof, some time during 1994, Cabinet approved the sale of a parcel of land located next to the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School to me. However, before the allocation of this land was formalized, the Guyana Muslim Mission Limited filed an action against the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys claiming that this plot of land was allocated to them by the late President Forbes Burnham.
This case was amicably resolved by the government giving the said land to the Guyana Muslim Mission Limited, thereby promising me another plot of land somewhere to be identified.
At no time whatsoever was I involved in the process of identifying the aforementioned plot of land or any plot of land which was to be allotted to me. I did however express a preference for a plot of land in Region 9 in close proximity to Lethem. In 2005, I was offered by the Government of Guyana a plot of land known as Tract C, Rear of Botanical Gardens, Mandela A venue at a purchase price of approximately two million, five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000). I accepted the said offer and purchased the said land. This process was initiated by an attorney-at-law employed with the Ministry of Legal Affairs who acted on behalf of the Government of Guyana.
I have recently sold the said plot of land as I am entitled to do like every other owner of land, at market value.
If the Stabroek News was interested in carrying a balanced and professional report, they would have contacted me and I would have provided to them the aforesaid information. But, in the pursuit of their design to scandalize my character, they did not do so.
Stabroek News did not publish in any prominence or at all the fact that in the 1980s, the Desmond Hoyte administration sold to Toolsie Persaud Limited a huge plot of land in the commercial heart of Georgetown, on Water Street, for the paltry sum of approximately one million Guyana dollars ($1,000,000) on the promise that they would construct a modern shopping mall. Some fifteen (15) years later, no such mall was constructed and this government had to pay to Toolsie Persaud Limited over three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) to acquire the same plot of land to accommodate a number of pavement vendors. The question I must ask is was this story not given any front page prominence because the editor of Stabroek News is the son of one co-owner of Toolsie Persaud Limited and the nephew of the other.
In similar vein, Toolsie Persaud Limited claimed prescriptive title for a large portion of prime commercial state land located adjacent to the East Coast highway at Liliendaal. This case went all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice where a large portion of this land was given back to the state. Yet this company has recommenced litigation all over again in the High Court seeking to reclaim this land which they intend to resell. Yet I have not seen front page headlines about this matter.
Before I close, I feel obliged to mention and I wish Stabroek News to carry the following giving it equal prominence:
(i) I have agreed to give up to GuySuCo and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission the remaining land at Manarabisi on the right bank of the Canje River, Berbice, in order to facilitate GuySuCo’s diversification drive into the cattle industry without any form of compensation at this point in time;
(ii) I have relinquished to the state the rights to ten thousand (10,000) acres of land at Akawini in the Pomeroon area which I had acquired under the People’s National Congress (PNC) government;
(iii) I also relinquished to the state the right to develop a housing scheme in respect of that plot of land which now houses a housing area for members of the Joint Services which I had also acquired under the People’s National Congress (PNC) government.
Yours faithfully,
Odinga Lumumba
Editor’s note
1. The report on the transaction between Mariwa Mining Co Inc and the Canadian mining company, Shoreham Resources Inc, was based in the first instance on a press release issued by the latter company. Contrary to what Mr Lumumba claims, his comments were sought before the first story was published, and on that occasion he confirmed he had an interest in Mariwa but declined to answer questions from the newspaper, although he said he would do it the following day. Eventually he issued a joint letter on the subject with Dr Grantley Walrond.
In fact, we do routinely seek his comments on stories which intimately concern him, although we did not do so in the case of the land deal, because it was not based on confidential sources and contained no comments attributed or otherwise from any other party; it simply reproduced information contained in official documents which this newspaper has seen.
2. Mr Lumumba has now given his views on the matter above; however he has not challenged any of the substantive claims in the report of April 18, save to quote the figure of “approximately” G$2.5M as the purchase price of the land. The documents seen by SN give the sum of G$1.5M as the purchase price and this is what was reported; it is possible, however, that Mr Lumumba paid an additional sum which we were not aware of, or that there was a typographical error in his copy. It is a relatively minor matter in the context of the article, and Mr Lumumba can easily clarify the discrepancy.
He does give a background to cabinet approving the sale of the land to him, although contrary to what he implies, this newspaper had nothing to say on that score and there was no suggestion in the report that he had identified the land in question or that the cabinet decision was improper. As such, therefore, the history of the acquisition does not challenge the veracity of the facts in the story.
3. The other accusations put forward by Mr Lumumba are pure red herrings. The allegations of bias on the part of the editor-in-chief of the Stabroek News on account of his familial connections can be dismissed out of hand, given the plethora of stories on Toolsie Persaud Ltd which have been carried in this newspaper, and some of which one imagines the company itself would have been a good deal less than happy with. TPL has been treated in exactly the same way by SN as every other business entity in this country, and Mr Lumumba’s defective memory has clearly interfered with his recollection of the many reports we have carried on the Turkeyen land issue, including the hearings at the Caribbean Court of Justice and in the local courts. As for the Water Street land intended for a shopping mall, that was given exhaustive coverage by this paper, including on the front page.
4. We find Mr Lumumba’s allegation that our coverage relating to his business deals is designed to expose his family and “in particular” his children to “ridicule, public embarrassment and danger,” quite bizarre. As an MP, cabinet member and Advisor to the President who is paid by the taxpayer, Mr Lumumba must expect that like every other public employee his actions will be subject to scrutiny. We cannot feel that in an open society cabinet members, MPs and advisors should be sheltered from the media when they are asking questions on behalf of the public. If Mr Lumumba thinks they should be, then he is clearly not comfortable within a democratic framework of transparency and accountability.
