Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday declined to respond to questions from investigators concerning ‘Pradoville 2,’ invoking his presidential immunity from prosecution, although he has declared his readiness to defend himself in court if the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) decides to charge him.
“We intend to file a full defence at some point once it gets to the court. That’s where you will see all the issues that you have been asking me about. At this stage, like the other members of the Cabinet, we choose the right to be silent and in this case I chaired the Cabinet in an official capacity, so we invoked that…,” Jagdeo told reporters shortly after meeting with SOCU investigators.
Last week, he was invited to the unit’s Camp Street Headquarters to be questioned about a 2010 Cabinet meeting, where the allocations of parcels of land and other matters concerning the housing scheme were discussed. In addition to Jagdeo, eight other Cabinet members were questioned and it is unclear who else will be summoned in the coming days.
Last Tuesday, Priya Manickchand who was the Human Services Minister in 2010 was questioned. The following day, former Transport Minister Robeson Benn, former Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, former Housing Minister Irfaan Ali, former Labour Minister Manzoor Nadir, former Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai; former Local Government Minister Kellawan Lall and former Health Minister Dr.Bheri Ramsaran were all questioned. They were not told to return or what is likely to happen next.
This was Jagdeo’s second encounter with SOCU on the housing scheme. In March last year, he and other former Cabinet members were questioned by SOCU. He visited SOCU after being arrested at his Church Street office.
Flanked by his attorneys, Anil Nandlall, Sase Gunraj and Euclin Gomes, he said that he was asked questions similar to the ones his fellow Cabinet members were asked. Based on what the others had said, they were asked about certain documents and whether they had asked for land, among other things.
Jagdeo, who spent less than half an hour with the officers, told reporters that nothing was said about the filing of charges but “knowing this government they would drag it a little bit and try to get charges laid sometime closer to the elections.”
He was not told when he would hear from SOCU again. “I guess it is gonna be another round of media and publicity,” he said.
Nandlall informed that Jagdeo invoked the immunity that the law guarantees him. “The questions related to when Jagdeo was the president and was Chairman of Cabinet and as such we invoked that Article that immunised him from questioning and …any legal process whatsoever,” he said.
Article 182(1) of the Constitution says, “subject to the provisions of Article 180 the holder of the office of President shall not be personally answerable to any court for the performance of the functions of his or her office or for any act done in the performance of those functions and no proceedings, whether criminal or civil, shall be instituted against him or her in his or her personal capacity in respect thereof either during his or her term of office or thereafter.”
Existing case
Nandlall also made reference to a civil case pertaining to these lands, which was filed by a group headed by former APNU Member of Parliament Desmond Trotman and which is at a standstill. He informed that this case against some of the allottees of ‘Pradoville 2’ lands is still in the system although Affidavits in Defence have been filed.
The group, in September, 2015, had moved to the High Court seeking, among other things, to have the sales of plots on two parcels of land known as ‘Pradoville 1’ and ‘Pradoville 2’ declared null and void as the sales were done surreptitiously at undervalued prices to former government ministers, officials and cronies of the PPP/C.
A special investigation of the housing development, which was part of a larger probe of the financial operations of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), was conducted by accounting firm Ram & McRae.
The investigation revealed that the allocation of the land was a clandestine arrangement that was handled personally by Ali and it was concluded that a criminal case for misfeasance could be made against the PPP/C Cabinet members who benefitted.
It was found that lots in the 12.1187-acre scheme were allocated to six Cabinet members—then President Jagdeo, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon and ministers Manickchand, Dr Jennifer Westford, Robert Persaud and Clement Rohee—along with other persons with connections to the government, including Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack and former army head Gary Best.
The probe found that the awardees grossly underpaid for the lots by a total of nearly $250 million, while the state-owned National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited, National Communications Network, and Guyana Power and Light Inc were never reimbursed for millions spent to execute preparatory works.
The findings of the investigation were later referred to SOCU for a criminal probe to be launched.
The unit had completed its investigation and the file was sent for legal advice. It was returned with a recommendation that some additional work be done. This was done and the file was resubmitted for advice. SOCU was then required to do some additional work, which was done and the file was returned to the legal advisor. However a “small issue” arose and efforts are now being made to sort that out before charges are laid. According to what this newspaper was told, multiple persons will be charged.
Not for security
Before entering the building yesterday, Jagdeo denied Benn’s previous claim that the scheme was established for security reasons.
Jagdeo, while noting that this was never discussed at Cabinet, said Benn indicated to him that that was “his view.” He said too that Benn denied stating this to SOCU.
Shortly after exiting SOCU Headquarters, Benn told reporters that he told the investigators that the scheme was established to ensure the safety of government officials during the crime wave.
Recalling the violence during the crime wave which claimed the life of former Agriculture Minister Satyadeow Sawh and his relatives, Benn had said that he did point out to the investigator questioning him that the “security of the senior members of the government and senior personages was an overriding issue and that it had to do with the stability of the country to make sure that the President and other members of the Cabinet, that they would want to be secure and safe and whatever was done had to be done.” Benn does not live in the scheme nor did he buy land there.
Jagdeo insisted that if security was indeed an issue, he would not have bought land and built a house at that location, “at the back next to the sea wall where the gunmen can easily hide…and shoot at you.” He then said there are varying explanations as to why the scheme was developed.
He was also adamant that he would not pay the difference in the value of his land. Persaud, after being questioned, had expressed a willingness to pay the difference if called upon to do so.
“I said that already… no, the answer is no. It has not changed from my earlier explanation,” Jagdeo said.
Jagdeo was also not up to defending the perception that the lands were preferentially allocated. Stressing that he has dealt with the matter ad nauseam before, he said, “I am not going to address it again.”