City Hall issues stop order to Qatari Hotel

Mar 12, 2024 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

Kaieteur News – The Engineer’s Department of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has placed a cease order on the fence of Carifesta Avenue land which was allocated by the Government of Guyana (GoG) for Qatari investors to build a five-star hotel.

City Engineer, Colvern Venture

The notice was placed on the fence of the property on Monday afternoon moments after Mayor Alfred Mentore instructed City Engineer Colvern Venture to ensure that the order is issued. The move comes amidst controversy between Central Government and City Hall over the ownership of the land.

Days after it was announced that the lands once controlled by Guyana National Service (GNS) and National Insurance Scheme (NIS) for recreational purposes would be sold for $2 billion to the Middle-Eastern investors for them to build a hotel, City Hall and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC)  produced their individual copies of transports claiming rights to the land.

The Georgetown Municipality has since threatened litigation to have the matter sorted out once and for all. On Monday, the ownership of the land was once more a subject for debate at the statutory meeting of the Mayor and Councillors. When the matter  came up for discussion, Mayor Mentore noted that the owners/occupier should have been issued with a cease order to stop any works being conducted at the location given the ongoing dispute over who owns the land.  He noted that City Engineer had been given an instruction to issue the cease order at the previous statutory meeting of the council. While updating the council on his efforts to issue the cease order, Venture noted that when he visited the location, no one was there.

The City Engineer explained further that he did some research and discovered that the transport that was circulated by the M&CC claiming ownership, did not relate to the lands which were identified for the Qataris to build their hotel. “The transport that was circulated does not speak to that portion of land… The transport that was circulated at the Council, speaks to a plot of land bounded by Camp Street, J.P Latchmansingh Road that is bordered by the canal that is immediately south of the Queen’s College,”  Venture told the Council.

Mayor Mentore, however, sought to remind Venture that his duty was not to verify the authencity of the transport or surveys but to serve the cease order. “Are you relying on stuff that you would have seen from the Lands and Surveys? You are the City Engineer, you are not a surveyor, I am not a surveyor …So I would rather that such matters be treated with by the independent professionals that we can determine the veracity of the transport information…” Mentore said pointing out that the City Engineer’s Department is bound by the law and regulations to approve the construction of building projects within the city.

He noted that it is common courtesy for the council to be notified of any such development within Georgetown. “The reality is that this is being done without authorisation and any unauthorised work that is being done in the city you as the City Engineer is mandated by regulation and law to be able to treat with such issues. If a man is building a place somewhere in Kitty here, you aint got to find out if he got transport,” Mentore asserted. “Your job is to find out that if they doing unauthorised work… Your job is to approve the plans and provide the information and approval of the council…” he said. “Regardless of who it is…your job is to serve them with the notice even if you place it on the fence take a picture to say that I have been there and done that,” the Mayor continued.

In response, Venture sought to explain to the council that when he visited the location, there was no one there and no work was ongoing. “So a notice to the owner/occupier cannot stand in Court…”the engineer said. Mentore however reminded the engineer that he had previously advised the council that if the owner of a property is not known then the notice cannot be issued to the owner/ occupier of the property.

The Mayor said too that the issue will likely be the subject of litigation. “This issue will more than likely be the subject of a court case… I have written to the President and I have not received any word, so I have until tomorrow and I am speaking to lawyers to get legal advice on the way forward…” the Mayor told the Council.

• Alfred Mentore, City Engineer, Colvern Venture, Mayor, Mayor and Councillors