The Cheddi Jagan Research Centre Inc today secured a conservatory order against the decision by the government to revoke its lease to the historic Red House.
Chief Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards issued the order in Chambers consequent to an ex-parte application in the name of Hydar Ally, Chairman of the Management Committee of the Centre.
The order requires the Attorney General (AG), the first-named defendant to give an undertaking that property at the site would not be interfered with. The AG and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission have been given 21 days to file an affidavit in reply to Ally’s. The matter is returnable for February 20th, 2017.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo earlier today said that the PPP would challenge the government’s decision to revoke the lease of Red House to the Centre which was announced yesterday by President David Granger.
Jagdeo made the announcement at a press conference at Freedom House. He described the revocation of the lease as an “unbelievable act” and the product of a “warped mind”. He said an injunction will be sought from the court against the lease revocation.
Flanked by PPP/C MPs, Jagdeo said the lease revocation is a callous act when one considers the role that the late President Cheddi Jagan played in the pre-independence struggles, the fight for free and fair elections and for the development of Guyana. He said no one should deny Dr Jagan a special place in the hearts of all Guyanese and for generations to be able to follow his works.
Jagdeo contrasted the lease revocation with the manner in which the PPP/C government he headed had handled a freehold title application by the family of Forbes Burnham for five acres of land across from the Botanical Gardens. Jagdeo noted that this lease had been granted to the family and that the land was eventually sold for a large sum.
Jagdeo charged that the APNU+AFC government was becoming increasingly repressive.