Chairman of Region 10 Mortimer Mingo today said that Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon had contacted him in August 2010 saying that he (Mingo) had been identified to receive a house lot at Pradoville 2 and that was the last he heard on the matter until testimony in a libel matter yesterday.
Responding to the controversy created by Luncheon testifying in the High Court yesterday that Yearwood was one of the Afro-Guyanese to be awarded lots at the Pradoville 2 Scheme, Mingo said that Luncheon advised him that the lots were located at Sparendaam on the East Coast Demerara where the NCN radio antennas were sited. He said he was further told in a telephone call by Luncheon that the lands were being assigned to senior government functionaries and regional chairmen. Mingo said that Luncheon then advised him that he would be getting one of the lots and would be contacted later as to how the allocation was to be made.
Said Mingo: “I immediately contacted my attorney-at-law on the offer that was made to me by the Head (of the) Presidential Secretariat and he advised that I acknowledge the offer, and wait and see what and how they would proceed with the offer”.
Mingo said that since then he has not heard anything from the HPS or anyone concerning the said plot of land.
“I have not signed any agreement or condition of sale or paid any money for any land at Sparendaam, or have I received any lease, title or transport for that land from the Government of Guyana. In fact I have never seen the land”, Mingo added.
If the statement about Luncheon’s offer is confirmed it suggests that the HPS was integrally involved in contacting those who were to have lots at this controversial scheme. The government has not provided information on a range of questions asked in relation to this scheme. (See other stories on this web page.)
The approach to Mingo, a senior PNC official, also raises the question as to why Mingo did not immediately reject the offer considering that the PNCR has been steadfastly critical of schemes like Pradoville 2 which were not transparently handled.
It also raised the questions of why the chairman of Region 10 who resides in Linden should be offered a lot in Georgetown and whether all regional chairmen were approached. The PNCR Chairman of Region Four Clement Corlette had blasted the Central Housing and Planning Authority over the lack of answers about the scheme and had written to it for answers to no avail.
