The Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) is currently addressing an ongoing dispute between a Lethem taxi driver and a businessman in the area over a parcel of sand-bearing land on the outskirts of the Rupununi community.
Taxi driver Desmond Adams had told Stabroek News during a recent visit to the border community that the parcel of land which he had occupied over a six-year period was being taken away from him.
However, according to an official of the GLSC, Adams was never awarded a lease for the land and is in fact squatting on the property. The official said too that the matter is currently before the body’s sub-office as there is a dispute between the taxi driver and businessman John Macedo over the land.
The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the agency which is responsible for sand-mining activities, subsequently instituted a cease work order on the 640 acres of land, which is located at an area north of the Old Lethem Industrial Site.
Macedo told Stabroek News recently that the issue is a complex one. He said that several years ago he was part of a group of business persons from Lethem that had applied to the authorities to carry out sand-mining activities at the area in question and permission was granted. He added that there was subsequently a dispute over the ownership of the land.
Adams had said that in 2006 he had applied for a lease for the parcel of land for the purposes of farming in an area. Since then, he added, he has been paying the requisite fees for the upkeep of the land and according to him he has been preparing the land for agricultural purposes. More recently, approximately five acres of the land have been set aside for cashew production. He has also utilised the land to graze cattle and goats over the years.
Adams said the GGMC office in the region subsequently launched an investigation into the matter since sand mining fell under its purview. Stabroek News was told that sand continues to be removed from the area even though the cease work order exists.
