Marlon Bristol, the head of the Project Management Office of the Ministry of the Presidency, said that when he applied to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) for lands two years ago, he had no insider information and they were all for his specific projects.
“I went through the process like any other person etcetera,” Bristol told Stabroek News via phone when contacted.
“I never had any insider information. Like I said, the process involves sending a letter, doing an inspection etcetera, etcetera. So I never had any information that seems to be whatever the allegations are saying,” he added.
Bristol would not say what projects he intends to use the three parcels of lands, at Bohemia Berbice; Mocha, East Bank Demerara and Dallawalla at Linden for, as he believes “that that is for the [Guyana] Lands and Surveys [Commission] to address.”
“My intentions are the intentions I stated to [GLSC] that the lands would be given for. All the records are there. They have specifically why they give it,” he said, when asked what the lands would be used for.
“In addition to that, all of those things I am hearing about any special information and stuff about deep-water harbour and whatever it is, my plans and intentions have nothing to do with those things…,” he added.
Late last month, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo accused the APNU+AFC government of a “mad rush” to allocate prime state lands to key officials and alleged supporters since the December 21st no-confidence vote but the documentation he provided for the cases cited did not support his claims. He has since faced severe criticism with officials and some of those involved describing his allegations as false and in some cases, providing additional documentation to back up their case.
With regards to Bristol, Jagdeo said that the official was awarded one acre in Mocha, East Bank Demerara in February of this year, 12 acres at Dallawalla, Linden in June and 80 acres at Bohemia. According to the Opposition Leader, at both the Dallawalla and Bohemia locations, a deep-water harbour or a shore-based facility can be built.
The fact that Bristol is Head of the Project Management Office in the Ministry of the Presidency would raise the question as to whether he is privy to privileged information about ventures planned for various parts of the country. His being granted three swathes of land in a relatively short period of time would also beg the question of what plans have been laid out by him for the areas and the financial backing for such.
No favouritism
Defending his decision to acquire the lands, Bristol said he submitted a plan to the GLSC and met all the requirements necessary. He insisted that there was no favouritism or influence because of his position.
“They were chosen by myself. I have a plan. Like I said, I went through the process like everyone else, searched like everyone else; that is how the process is started. You send a letter and then they indicate whether lands were available or not,” he said.
Commissioner of the GLSC, Trevor Benn had told this newspaper that there is no law barring senior public servants from applying for state lands and that Bristol followed all necessary protocols when he applied for three parcels two years ago.
And with regards to claims by the Opposition Leader that Bristol applied for lands that were proposed for deep-water ports in Linden and Berbice, Benn said that as far as he knows, no deep-water port facility has been proposed for either of the two areas.
He said that as far as he knows, a proposal was floated by the PPP/C that the deep-water harbour be around the Crab Island, Berbice area and it was why the GLSC had last year invited persons to submit proposals for lands north of that area.
“The deep-water site which the PPP had proposed is not at Bohemia. And if you know, Bohemia is further down. If you follow the news, we had put out a call for persons who are interested north of where the deep-water harbour was supposed to be. But we have not moved as yet on those proposals. Bohemia is not part of the area and this government has not settled on an area,” he explained.
Questions have also been raised about the timeframe in which Bristol was able to apply for lands, have the applications processed and receive his lease.
Benn said that while some may question the optics, Bristol is not the first person to have his application process completed in a short period and persons from the opposition have also been able to get lands within the same time.
“This is not the only person that has put in and in two years was able to get a lease. There has been PPP people who put in also. It is only possible in specific places where there is access to the land. There are some areas where squatting and so on affect the time. It is easy to come up with that type of analysis and especially when persons want to make this political,” the GLSC Commissioner said.
“Our recordkeeping has been awful. I inherited that and I’m trying to facilitate any and everybody that comes in with their concerns. This is one person,” he added.
