Seven months after Georgetown Mayor Alfred Mentore announced plans to meet the principals of the Qatar-based Assets Group over the proposal for a US$300 million hotel on Carifesta Avenue, that meeting has not occurred and there is no indication as to if and when it will.
Attempts by Stabroek News to contact the mayor for an update were unsuccessful, as calls to his phone went unanswered. PPP/C Councillor Alfonso De Armas confirmed that no meeting has been held to date.
In June, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) had planned a statutory meeting to facilitate a presentation by the Assets Group. At the time, Mayor Mentore had stated, “We have proven title on this property,” asserting that the city council owned the land where the development is proposed.
He had likened the dispute over land ownership between the city council and the central government to a “poker game,” suggesting the government was waiting for the council’s next move. He indicated that the council would await the Qatari group’s presentation before proceeding, emphasizing that “there are things needed to be presented to the council—it’s a process.”
The land in question encompasses the Guyana National Service and National Insurance Scheme sports grounds, which the council claims belong to the city. The Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GLSC), however, maintains that they are state-owned.
In a February statement, the GLSC cited legal records, including Transport Number 235 of 1863, showing state ownership of 240.5 acres of Plantation Thomas. While the city council claimed the land was assigned to it by the estate of Quintin Hogg, the GLSC countered that only five acres were transferred to Hogg in 1886, leaving the majority of the land under state control.
The GLSC also referenced an 1886 survey, which predated the disputed transfer. The survey diagram, part of GLSC records, outlines the land’s location and provides explanatory notes on its intended transfer.
Despite these assertions, the city council issued a cease order against preliminary work on the site, citing its claim to the property.