Toolsie Persaud Limited (TPL) was on Friday advised by Attorney General Anil Nandlall to desist from clearing the site of the former specialty hospital at Turkeyen or face the full force of the law.
In a letter to TPL following a news item in this newspaper on the works at the site, Nandlall reminded that the status quo ante had to be preserved in line with the ruling of the court.
“I wish to remind you that the said status quo was, the Government of Guyana being in possession of the said plots of land and had commenced the construction of an edifice to house a Specialty Hospital, thereon. That position still obtains and the Government, therefore, remains in possession thereof,” the letter sent to the company by the Attorney General’s Chambers and seen by Stabroek News states.
“I am instructed that persons holding themselves out to be servants and or agents of Toolsie Persaud Limited, have recently entered upon the said land and have begun to clear, clean and landscape the same, without the permission or authority of the Government of Guyana. I am to inform you that the actions of these persons, not only constitute a breach of the Consent Order made before the Honourable Mr. Rishi Persaud, Justice of Appeal, rendering those persons liable for contempt of court, they also constitute a trespass against the Government of Guyana,” it adds.
The Attorney General requested “that the captioned plots of land be immediately vacated and all equipment, plant or machinery placed thereon be removed forthwith; and all activities and works being executed, thereof, cease with immediate effect. A failure to comply with these demands will be met with the full force of the law.”
Stabroek News on Friday afternoon called office numbers listed for Toolsie Persaud Limited but none were answered.
Last Wednesday, this newspaper reported that massive land preparation works had again begun at the Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara site.
This newspaper on Tuesday had visited the area where clearing had begun. A house which was situated on the site had been demolished and removed. A number of wooden piles were stockpiled at various locations on the site. Excavators and other machinery were present but there was no one operating them at the time of this newspaper’s visit.
This newspaper checked with the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Health and the Office of the Prime Minister to ascertain the purpose of the works. However, each government body stated that it was unaware of the matter and denied involvement.
Stabroek News understands that it was only after the newspaper report that checks were made by the government.
Expressing shock at the move by the company, Nandlall said the State has moved to notify TPL that its actions will not be tolerated.
“We have filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal and gotten a stay of execution which TPL consented to in the Court; … the effect of which prohibits them from going on to the land and occupying it. It is flagrant disregard to their own consent order made in the Court of Appeal. They have brazenly entered upon the land and [are] doing works thereon. We have written them a letter and we are hoping that they will observe the rule of law and the Court ruling,” Nandlall said when contacted by this newspaper.
“If they fail to do so, the State reserves the right to take such actions that the State is lawfully empowered to take in such circumstances,” he added.
Nandlall recalled that TPL had once claimed prescriptive rights to a large swathe of land in the Liliendaal/Turkeyen area and that through court action they were awarded some lots while some remained with the State.
However, the company subsequently went to court again to claim those which it was not awarded and for which the state was already given judgment.
“You will recall that TPL filed proceedings claiming ownership of that entire block at Liliendaal and Turkeyen by prescriptive title. In so doing, they abandoned a contract which they had with the Government of Guyana for the sale of the land in 1987, for which they never paid the full purchase price. They claimed ownership in the court proceedings, not through the sale but by virtue of their alleged uninterrupted occupation of the land for the required statutory period”, the AG said.
He added, “In those proceedings, they informed the court that their agreement of sale with the government was no longer valid and enforceable. That case traveled all the way CCJ with them being granted a declaration of title by prescription for a few plots of the land and the remaining plots reverting to the government. When everyone thought that the final court, having pronounced would have brought all legal contentions in relation to this land to an end, in 2008 shortly after the CCJ ruled, TPL filed a fresh set of proceedings in the High Court claiming ownership for the remaining lands which the CCJ had said, just weeks before, had reverted to the Government of Guyana. In other words, after the highest court in the land did not give them all the land, they started proceedings all over again to get back those remaining portions.”
Nandlall said that when TPL again took to the courts, they premised their case on the agreement of sale with the government and claimed specific performance of that agreement.
“This is the very same agreement which they claimed in the previous proceedings was no longer valid, so as to qualify them to benefit from the principle of prescriptive title. This, in my view, amounted to …an abuse of the legal process,” the Attorney General argued.
In the letter to TPL, addressed to Rajesh Persaud, Avinash Persaud and Vinod Persaud, the Attorney General chronicled the legal proceedings for Plot K and N Plantation Turkeyen North of the Railway Embankment
“As you are aware, on the 20th day of April 2018, the Honourable Mr. Jus-tice Brassington Reynolds in High Court Action No. 440-W/ 2008: Toolsie Persaud Limited v National Industrial and Commerce Investments Ltd (NICIL) and The Attorney General of Guyana, ruled, inter alia, that NICIL pass title to Toolsie Persaud Limited (TPL) in relation to plot “N” Plantation Turkeyen North of the Railway Embankment and, that the Government of Guyana pay compensation to TPL in respect of plot “K” Plantation Turkeyen, North of the Railway Embankment,” it stated.
“That decision of the Honourable Mr. Justice Brassignton Reynolds was duly appealed on the 4th day of June, 2018, to the Court of Appeal of Guyana, where that appeal remains pending. On the 23rd July, 2019, before the Honourable Mr. Rishi Persaud, Justice of Appeal in Chambers, a stay of the execution of the Orders made by Justice Brassington Reynolds on the 20th day of April, 2018, pending the hearing and determination of the appeal filed, was granted with the consent of the parties. The effect of that stay of execution is that the status quo ante the Orders shall prevail,” it added.
