State Minister Joseph Harmon has defended the government’s decision to have Attorney General (AG) Basil Williams advising on the composition of a team of special prosecutors to handle alleged criminal offences connected to the sale of land at the ‘Pradoville 2’ housing scheme, where former President Bharrat Jagdeo and a string of current and former senior officials have homes.
Harmon told reporters at yesterday’s post-Cabinet press briefing that the government will be providing information to investigators, not prosecuting those accused of a crime.
“The government does not prosecute the government provides information and police or special prosecutors to prosecute. The AG will not be prosecuting himself.
The AG will be identifying persons with the capacity, legal training and background to prosecute the case,” Harmon said. “There have always been special prosecutors. All that is required is that the Director of Public Prosecution gives her fiat. Generally, unless there are strong reasons against it, this fiat is given. The AG had been asked to identify persons to do the prosecution.
These are not the persons doing the investigation the police will be investigating.”
He further explained that the AG has submitted a preliminary report to Cabinet but has asked for two more weeks to complete a final list because of the level of consultation required.
At last week’s press briefing, Harmon had announced that Cabinet, upon examination of the audit reports on Pradoville 2 and the hosting of World Cup Cricket in 2007 under the former PPP/C administration, concluded that in both cases there were indications of criminal culpability that required further investigation and Williams was entrusted with putting together two prosecuting teams.
In addition, he said government would hand over the audit reports to the Guyana Police Force for investigations into alleged criminal matters.
An investigation was done earlier on the ‘Pradoville 2’ scheme by the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU). That investigation had discovered that the lands were sold for far less than they were worth. Among those who benefitted from the arrangement were former president Jagdeo and former PPP/C ministers Jennifer Westford, Priya Manickchand, Clement Rohee and Robert Persaud. Former Guyana Defence Force Chief of Staff and current presidential advisor Gary Best and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack are also on the list of beneficiaries.
Manickchand, the SARU report said, sold her land to Dave Naraine for $100 million on February 21, 2013, three years after the purchase of the said land, without any written permission from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), thereby being in breach of Clause C of the conditions attached by CHPA.
It added that Persaud’s land was transferred into the names of relatives. On September 18, 2014, the said land was sold to LSR Company for $90 million without any written permission from CHPA, thereby breaching the attendant conditions of ownership.
The document further said that the overseer of the Industry/Plaisance NDC had indicated that no rates have been paid since occupancy of the land.
SARU’s investigation also revealed that a decision was taken by Cabinet in 2010 for the land to be privatised.
This decision was made without any authorisation and approval from the relevant bodies. Several feasibility studies were conducted at the behest of Cabinet and huge sums of monies were spent to develop the land.
The unit, in its recommendations, said the owners of the land could be held liable for misconduct in public office and that the Attorney General could institute proceedings against them.
Harmon pointed out that among the “criminalities” found in the audit were that the lands were transferred for significantly less than market value.
The ‘Pradoville 2’ scheme has been deeply controversial for many years and it was believed that the Jagdeo administration was instrumental in instructing the relocation of a state television antenna from the land to the West Demerara so that the area could be parcelled off for housing.
