While former People’s Progressive Party/Civic Minister Robert Persaud yesterday said that he was amenable to a mutually acceptable resolution in the Pradoville 2 matter, Anil Nandlall, legal representative of the People’s Progressive Party General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo and other former ministers, said that option has been “ruled out”.
“That option is ruled out…Robert Persaud is not a member of the PPP. He is free to retain his own counsel and free to make his own decision as he has done which is different from ours,” Nandlall told Stabroek News last evening.
Breaking his silence, since Tuesday, when he was questioned by Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) officers, at the Agency’s Camp Street Headquarters, Persaud hinted that he would be ready to settle the price difference with the state, if it proves that the land was sold to him for an undervalued price.
“My legal advisor has indicated that should the State prove that the price paid for the plot of land was below market value, discussions can be entered into for a mutually acceptable resolution of the matter,” Persaud said on his Facebook social media post, yesterday morning.
Persaud’s overture has two major ramifications – an apparent split with Jagdeo and the PPP on the way forward and secondly, if it was accepted by the prosecution, any deal would have to be applicable to others who are presently being investigated in this case.
The SOCU probe is based on an investigation of the Sparendaam Housing Project, known as ‘Pradoville 2,’ which was part of a larger probe of the financial operations of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) that was conducted by accounting firm Ram & McRae and which concluded that a criminal case for malfeasance could be made against the PPP/C Cabinet members who benefited.
The firm found that awardees grossly underpaid for the lots by a total of nearly $250 million, while the state-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), National Communications Network (NCN) and Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) were never reimbursed for millions spent to execute preparatory works.
Sources close to the investigation yesterday told Stabroek News that “at this stage of the investigation no settlement has been discussed.”
Persaud, the former Minister of Natural Resources in the Donald Ramotar administra-tion had bought the 0.3030 acre of land located at Sparendaam, East Coast of Demerara in 2007 for $1.5M. Five years later he sold the property, which was uncompleted at the time, for $90M.
‘Perspective’
Thanking the public for their support to him during the ordeal, Persaud made clear that on Tuesday he was not arrested but went to the SOCU office voluntarily. He was accompanied by his attorney Mark Waldron but after being detained for over six hours, he declined to speak to the press when he was released indicating that he was hungry and tired.
And while he communicated to the public his views through social media, when contacted by Stabroek News yesterday he said that he did not want to expand on what he had written saying that it was “enough”.
Giving his perspective on the matter he said that he will continue to make himself available to SOCU whenever requested.
“What are the facts: Sometime in 2007-2008, I applied for a government house lot as at the time I was occupying a government residence and not the owner of any house lot issued by the State or one privately acquired…I paid the full asking price for a plot of land in the Sparendaam-Goedverwagting area referred to as ‘Pradoville 2’. This was the first time I ever purchased directly from the State a house lot. Due to a number of factors, including financial constraints, after the building was erected on the said plot it was sold. I never occupied the residence at Pradoville 2,” he stated.
Persaud noted that “all the necessary permissions were sought from the Ministry of Housing (and) a financial penalty was paid for the early disposal of the plot and building.”
‘Different’
But PPP’s legal representative Nandall explained that he had not spoken to his clients on coming to a payment differential settlement but if requested he had “ruled out” that option.
“Robert Persaud’s case is quite different from us,” he said, while adding “My clients did not buy the land below market value. It was government subsidized land as with the case of lands distributed during the PPP era.”
On Tuesday former President Jagdeo was arrested at the Leader of the Opposition’s office on Church Street, Georgetown by SOCU head Sydney James who was accompanied by United Kingdom (UK) Financial Investigation expert attached to SOCU, Dr Sam Sittlington and taken to SOCU headquarters for questioning.
Jagdeo’s arrest followed that of former Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon who was served his arrest notice in front of the local media corps at a press conference the PPP had called to talk about the pending matter. At the time of Luncheon’s arrest Jagdeo was unsure if he would have also been arrested but said that he believed he would be given that he was “the ultimate target.”
Five other persons were also questioned on Tuesday. These were Persaud, Lisaveta Ramotar, who is the General Manager of the Guyana Gold Board and daughter of former president Donald Ramotar, Ramesh Dookhoo, former Chairman of the Private Sector Commission and Dr Ghansham Singh. They were also beneficiaries of house lots in the scheme. Marcia Nadir-Sharma, former Deputy Director of state holding company NICIL was also questioned. They were all released without charge.
Then on Wednesday seven others followed. Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and six other persons: former Minister of Housing and Water Irfaan Ali, former Minister of Home Affairs and former People’s Progressive Party General Secretary Clement Rohee, former Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, former Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Water Authority Shaik Baksh, former Minister of Labour Nandakishore Gopaul and former Public Service Ministry head Dr Jennifer Westford, all were questioned by SOCU.
Yesterday only two persons were questioned, Former Director of NCN, Kwame McKoy and former Head of the Officer for Climate Change Andrew Bishop.
Bishop chose to not comment while McKoy informed that the questioning had to do with his role as NCN Director in the removal of a transmitting mast at Pradoville 2.
‘History’
From the first day and after McKoy’s detention, Nandlall had maintained that his clients had broken no law since subsidized housing has been a long part of Guyana’s history. He echoed much of what he had been saying but added that his party comrades would not relent on this position and thus would not come to any settlement that disputed this theory.
“The provision of subsidized housing has always been a fundamental priority of successive People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Governments since 1953. In the 50s and 60s, it was the PPP which played an instrumental role in moving thousands from the plantations into newly established housing schemes throughout the coastland after successful negotiations with the sugar estates to assist in providing titled house-lots at nominal value. In Georgetown, it was the PPP that built housing schemes in the Ruimveldt area and in Campbellville at hugely subsidized costs to the eventual home owners,” Nandlall stressed.
“Pradoville 2 is no different. It was part of this housing drive. The price at which lots at Pradoville 2 were sold, was identical to the price which was generated for a plot of land located at Liliendaal, sold to a private developer through a public bidding process. Liliendaal is approximately two miles closer to Georgetown, than Pradoville 2. Yet, Pradoville 2 housing project was converted into a huge political scandal by politicians, which was fueled by an abetting media. The scandal drew its sensation from the fact that former President, Bharrat Jagdeo and many Ministers of the PPP Government and top State officials were allocated plots of land in the scheme. When the APNU+AFC assumed Government, the project became the subject of a forensic audit. From May 2015, to current, this scheme has been the subject of reckless news reports containing all manner of baseless and scandalous information on an almost daily basis in the press,” he said, adding “…In the context of the Government’s housing policy, the fact that these lands were sold and bought below the market value, can never lend itself to the establishment of criminal liability,” he added.
‘Political underpinnings’
He also blasted United Kingdom Financial Investigation expert Dr Sam Sittlington who defended the arrest of Jagdeo and others on Tuesday.
“I note that Mr. Sam Sittlington has taken the liberty of making statements which have political underpinnings and seems to be functioning as part of the operations of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU). As a result, I now question his role in the law enforcement process of Guyana. Is he operating under the auspices of the British High Commission in Guyana? If so, then one will have to assume that there is some linkage between his actions and the British Government. This must be clarified by the British High Commission. Or, is he a consultant and if so, for whom is he consulting and who (is really) paying him? If he is a consultant, then it would appear that he is acting way outside of his remit and is engaged in operational matters,” Nandall posited.
“I recall as Attorney General, Mr. Sittlington, was around offering his services to assist the then Government in dealing with the Anti-Money Laundering Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) issues at the time. However, the Government did not retain his services because our difficulties at the time was getting the Opposition’s majority support in Parliament for the Bills to be passed. I also recall that Opposition Members of Parliament were consulting him in assisting them in drafting counter amendments to the Government’s AML/CFT Amendment Bills. It now appears, that this Government has either retained the gentleman or has promised him a contract, hence his deep involvement in this matter,” he added.
Nandall said that he believes that government seems divided as President David Granger was unaware that Jagdeo had been arrested and had promised to “inquire into the incident.”
“The President, Mr. David Granger, at the meeting with Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, at State House last Wednesday, at which I was present, was apologetic, claiming that he was unaware of the incidents and that it was Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, who drew it to his attention. He explained, that former Presidents should be treated with dignity and that he recognises that Governments change. The Leader of the Opposition expressed the view that some of his Ministers may be directing the SOCU officers. The President promised to personally inquire into the incident,” he said.
