At a statutory meeting held yesterday, Georgetown Mayor Alfred Mentore asserted that lands along Carifesta Avenue designated by the government for a Qatari hotel belong to the city and President Irfaan Ali will be written to on the matter.
In an uproarious meeting where PPP/C councillors launched blistering attacks on him, Mentore sought and received support from a majority on the council to engage the President.
The council is also moving to issue a cease order against the work that is getting underway on the NIS and GNS grounds for a US$300m resort.
Mentore declared at the tumultuous meeting that the lands do belong to the city and not to central government and that a move by the Qatari investor, Assets Group to proceed with building on the lands would be illegal thereby forcing legal repercussions.
Some of the PPP/C councilors most notably Don Singh and Patricia Chase-Green protested that this move by the council is one that is anti-development. They argued that the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission had already said that the lands are under the authority of the government.
Mentore said that one of the reasons for the letter is so that central government and the Council can have discussions. He also circulated a document which purported to show that the lands belong to the council and were gifted to the city by the Hogg family in 1887.
“This is something that we need to have talks and to engage as it relates to ownership of the property” he asserted, adding that he does not care about what lands and survey said since he has the proof that the lands belong to the city.
“We need to have verifiable evidence as to what they say and to what we have on record”, he said.
He argued that the council is the custodian and guardian of the reserves and grounds and assets of the council and asked councillors that they stand firm in this regard.
While making his request to write to the President concerning the Carifesta Avenue property, he was met with fierce objections from the councillors on the PPP/C side of the house with some even asking “what are you writing for”. He continued with a request that councillors Clayton Hinds and Lelon Saul be part of the letter-writing process.
Chase-Green, who was formerly a ccouncillor for Mentore’s party before she switched to the PPP/C for the last elections, began singing loudly and mockingly, causing a disruption in the proceedings. Councillor Hinds stood in agreement with the mayor saying “I heard you and I think the approach you are suggesting is a sensible one. This is not a contentious matter”. His statement was met with even more scorn by the members of the PPP/C side of the council.
He continued “I am also suggesting in relation to the roundtable discussion if that engagement yields no results that is satisfactory I am suggesting Sir that this council give you the authority to be the person on behalf of this council to take this issue to court”.
Saul informed the council and the mayor that the persons preparing the ground for the Qatari hotel did not go into the city works department to make a request for works to be done. He said that the process is the same for everyone and it is one rule for all whether that be government, foreign investor or a regular citizen.
He then requested that the city engineer serve a letter to have the developers cease works until the matter is settled.
Chase-Green again began protesting at this suggestion which caused Saul to respond that it is procedural and it is only right,
Mentore requested that the city engineer be given 72 hours to write to the government or the investor dealing with the land and to have a cease order sent
The engineer present told the council that they have a procedure where they will have a letter sent to the owner of the property and a cease order to the persons working on the lands but since there is no proof that the lands belong to the council he has no idea who to send the letter to and requested that a copy of a document be given to him so that he can proceed.
