| – main beneficiary is close associateThe construction of a cine multiplex (a multiple movie theatre) has been halted at the very last moment amidst a legal fight between hardware giant, Toolsie Persaud Limited, and the government.Winston BrassingtonAt the centre of the issue is a piece of prime real estate owned by Toolsie Persaud at Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara. The land is immediately west of the UG Access Road and facing the East Coast Demerara Public Road.Multi-cinemas Guyana Inc. was scheduled to conduct the ceremonial sod turning on Thursday afternoon but cancelled at the very last moment citing bad weather.However, a day before, Justice James Bovell-Drakes had granted an injunction ordering the company, the Attorney General and the National Industrial and Commerce Investments Limited (NICIL) to remove from the land.The heavy equipment that had been working on the land was removed shortly after the injunction was granted.An invitation to Kaieteur News for the sod turning event on Thursday cited Brian James, a city businessman as the main person behind the function. James is a senior executive of Auto Supplies Limited, dealers of Suzuki.The Trinidad-based Multi-cinemas Guyana Inc. was supposed to be the organization spearheading the establishment of the cinema complex.According to an affidavit sworn to by Toolsie Persaud, Chairman of Toolsie Persaud Limited, to justify the injunction, Multicinemas was incorporated in Guyana since 1991.Brian JamesToolsie Persaud is contending that it will not accept compensation since it is the rightful owner of the land, having purchased it in 1987.Around October 1987,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, Toolsie Persaud entered into a written agreement of sale with government for immovable property, which was impliedly warranted to belong to the government.This included a tract of land described in official documents as areas ‘C’, ‘F’, ‘G’, ‘H’, ‘K’, ‘N’, ‘J’ and ‘O’, at Plantation Turkeyen. The tract of land was in excess of 83 acres.The land was vested to the state in July 1977 via compulsory purchase orders made four months earlier.According to the affidavit, in 1987 Persaud agreed that the purchase price was $2,217,100 with one third paid at the signing of the agreement. The balance was to be paid on the passing of the Transport.“That the Plaintiff company went into possession of the said property in or around the month of April 1988 having delayed its possession thereof at the request of the Government of Guyana to facilitate the reaping of a crop of grass grown on the land by the National Dairy Development Programme.”Toolsie Persaud said that it carried out several works on the land, including clearing, bulldozing, filling, and building concrete drains, bridges and roads, among other things. The company also laid water mains, constructed wire fences and planted posts.Housing schemeAccording to the affidavit, in 1988 Toolsie had planned to build a housing scheme. The Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) approved the plan on March 31, 1989.In October 1992, the land was advertised in the Official Gazette for the passing of the Transport to Toolsie Persaud.According to the plaintiff, despite the advertisements in the Official Gazette, the Transport was not passed.Toolsie Persaud claimed that the entire tract of land was the subject of several court matters, including proceedings brought by Andrew James Investment Limited and Shivlochnie Singh over areas ‘F’, ‘G’, ‘H’ and ‘C’. The two parties wanted the government’s compulsory purchase of 1977 to be declared null and void and unconstitutional.In 1993, Toolsie Persaud then moved to acquire the lands via the Prescriptive Title process and the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in 2008 adjudged that areas ‘C’, ‘F’, ‘G’ and ‘H’ had been acquired by the company via Prescriptive Title.The CCJ also ordered the registration of three of the areas in the Plaintiff’s name, except ‘C’ and dismissed the petition for areas ‘K’, ‘N’, ‘J’ and ‘O’ which was declared to remain in the name of the Government of Guyana.Toolsie Persaud claimed that nevertheless during the legal proceedings, in March 2006, the Official Gazette advertised ‘K’, ‘N’,Cheap NFL Jerseys, ‘J’ and ‘O’ for passage of the Transport to the company but this was never done.Following the CCJ decision,China NFL Jerseys, the Guyana Government was ordered to pass the Transport. However, the Attorney General refused or neglected to and Toolsie Persaud commenced legal proceedings in 2008. These matters are to be heard on September 8, September19, September 20 and September 26 this year.According to the court documents, during this period of the latest court action, Toolsie Persaud found out that the land was put up for sale by Government.Immediately the company attempted to block the move, in January 2009.His action was dismissed but an appeal was filed last year. That appeal is still to be heard.Toolsie Persaud claimed that despite ongoing court actions over the land, on August 19, officials of the company found an excavator with the inscription “BK International Limited’ carrying out works on portions of the land.The next day, Toolsie Persaud claimed, it discovered advertisements in the Official Gazette of August 6 and August 8, in which Government “purported” to transfer a portion of the land in question to the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission—that is area ‘K’ which is equivalent to 10.002 acres.The company official, in the affidavit, claimed that it was the first time that he saw the advertisement “since I do not have ready access to the said Official Gazette and particularly the Legal Supplement which I am advised by our Attorneys-at-Law is not easily available and I could not have readily seen the same previous to that date.”ClandestineToolsie Persaud described the intended transfer as a “callous’ attempt to avoid the upcoming legal proceedings to be heard.It in fact, amounts to a fraudulent attempt to avoid the contract with Toolsie Persaud, the court documents said. This “fraud” includes falsely pretending that it is open for sale; that there is no other previous purchaser of the land; that the state has no pre-existing obligation at law in respect to the sale; and concealing its intention to sell the land from the Plaintiff and from the court.“The defendants by their actions used clandestine means to prevent the court from hearing an existing action and conspired with Multicinemas,Stitched Jerseys, the third defendant, to oust Toolsie Persaud from possession of the land,Cheap Jerseys Wholesale,” the plaintiff argued.The court documents also accused the defendants of misusing the provisions of the Public Corporations Act 1988 for the purpose of concealing their actions and avoiding the advertisement of any sale in the Transport sections of the Official Gazette.Toolsie Persaud argued in the affidavit that it is clearly an abuse, if not contempt of the court by the defendants, who wanted to show that “(they have) no jurisdiction over (their) actions and (have) no regard for the sanctity of legal proceedings before the court…”Toolsie Persaud also said that it was unwilling to consider compensation for the lands in question since it is still in possession of the land and is entitled to the protection of the law.NICIL has evolved into a critical state-controlled agency which overtime has been responsible more and more for privatizing public assets. Its existence however has not been without controversy.The acquisition of the Ruimveldt Industrial Site where National Hardware has opened a shopping centre has also been the subject of controversy with family members of Lysons, a garment manufacturing company, claiming that NICIL in contravention of the law,Cheap China Jerseys, is moving to take away the property.That matter is reportedly still before the courts.Recently, Mayor Hamilton Green fingered NICIL as helping to take away lands in Kingston, which are under the control of the Municipality. That land where the Luckhoo Swimming Pool was once sited will be used to house a Marriott Hotel. |
