Land ownership has always been seen as a symbol of generational wealth and security, due to the important role in personal and collective development that it is seen to play. While promoting a positive vision of stability, land can very often be a contentious asset. In Guyana, land disputes have resulted in things from murders to family disputes, with the two often going hand in hand. At the national government level, the issue of land has also reared its sordid head with notorious land deals, as was seen in Pradoville. Former Minister of Housing, Irfaan Ali, who is now the President, was accused of involvement in a clandestine deal to sell these lands way below market value to members of his party. Land deals such as this rightly earned quite a lot of public scrutiny. However, those with power will often come out unscathed from incidents such as these, while the people lose.
An example of this is currently being played out between owners of Section G Beterverwagting, their Neighbourhood Democratic Council, and John Fernandes Ltd. The tale goes that the NDC, even after being made aware that the lands that were under consideration was not within their capacity to sell as it belonged to private individuals, still decided to go ahead with its deal with Fernandes Ltd. 200 plus acres of land was set to be sold for $35 million. Even without the problematic actions involved in this case, this is an egregious price to be paid for that magnitude of land, and demonstrates clear advantage being taken of a historically under-resourced community. It is important to note that the lands that are being targeted are ancestral lands that have cultural and spiritual value to community members, and its owners.
It was quite an insidious move that was only learnt about through the leaking of documents surrounding the deal. Were these documents not leaked, it is very likely that the deal would have been quietly made, and over one hundred families with ownership rights to these lands would’ve woken up one day only to have found all their rights stripped without their knowledge. With the leak reaching the public about the attempt to sell privately owned lands, Fernandes made a move that is often not seen within the business community once they have set their sights on something they want, they displayed responsibility and empathy. Phillip Fernandes in a statement responding to the situation said, “when people objected and started saying we should not be buying the land and it belonged to other people, we said if there are people who made claims and there might be legitimacy to the claims, we don’t want to go against that…Guyanese have gotten a raw deal for years and the last thing we wanted was to be part of something where people felt they were getting a raw deal again and we walked.”
His words were gracious, but ultimately they were shallow. While one was inclined to believe that this meant that Fernandes Ltd. would move forward in putting the deal behind them, instead they chose to sign over “all their rights and interest to Mohamed’s Sons and Daughters Trading, Mining, Logging and Construction Inc., by way of Deed of Assignment,” in May.
It would be good to know how Fernandes defines distancing itself from the deal as its move to shift its stake into this unknown company signals that something is amiss. Mohamed’s Sons and Daughters is now taking the NDC to court to push through the sale of the lands. This mystery company appeared at council meetings instead of Fernandes, indicating that Fernandes very intentionally forwards the NDC’s documents to it. Its reps were also said to utter verbal warnings to councillors they viewed as errant and problematic, indicating that there is a vested interest and urgency in ensuring that the sale goes through.
This deal is one that we must continue to pay attention to. Many of those in a position of privilege rely on the public’s short memory, but it is important that the ancestral land rights of BV residents are respected. The NDC failed spectacularly in this matter, demonstrating the importance of leaders that are genuinely connected to and concerned for the people. Hopefully, owners of the land will not have their rights stripped away from them as can often happen in situations such as these.
