Several residents of Beterverwagting (BV) on the East Coast Demerara yesterday protested John Fernandes Limited’s (JFL) decision to transfer its interest in a controversial 143 acres land deal to a mystery company.
The protest took place at the JFL wharf on Water Street, Georgetown. “We value these lands and they [JFL] knows full well that these lands belong to us…,” Elton McRae, one of the holders of a transport for the land in question and a councillor of the BV/Triumph NDC, told Stabroek News.
Last December, this newspaper reported on the controversial agreement between JFL and the BV/Triumph Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC). Details of the $35 million deal had only come to light when the agreement document was leaked, according to McRae. According to the terms, JFL was supposed to pay the NDC $20 million on the signing of the agreement and the remainder when the transport was passed. Observers had deemed the $35m figure as paltry but more importantly the deal related to some lands which the NDC had no jurisdiction over.