Hughes caught in middle of no lease for 75 acres of state land

Last Updated on Friday, 7 February 2025, 23:34 by Writer

Amid government’s challenging of Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader, Nigel Hughes’ account of the process for transferring leases for 75 acres of land on the West Bank of the Essequibo River to himself, he said the previous lessee never received the lease and now the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) has not found any trace of that person.

Attorney General, Anil Nandlall said all that was required for a transfer of the lease from Simon Munroe to Mr Hughes was for the two parties to present affidavits to the GLSC which would then stamp “transfer” on the lease after the request has been approved.

Asked what was the reason that Mr Munroe gave for not being in possession of the lease, Mr Hughes told Demerara Waves Online News that, “he said he had been frustrated and had been waiting and waiting and he had not gotten it. If I recall correctly, he either wanted to migrate or some relative of his wanted to migrate and he needed the money.” Mr Hughes on Thursday released records of his transaction.

Mr Hughes said he did not know how long Mr Munroe had been in possession of the land, but he had gone there, inspected the property and had seen him occupying it.

In the case of Mr Hughes’ transactions, published documents from the GLSC showed that an application by him and Ms Noreen Gaskin for the lease of 25 acres had been approved and two provisional leases had been granted to him for 25 acres each.

A well-placed source on Friday told Demerara Waves Online News that a search at the GLSC did not find any records showing that Mr Munroe had been the holder of a State Land lease.

Mr Hughes again on Friday said he had also formally requested the final leases from the GLSC but without any response, and would eventually seek legal advice on the way forward.

The AFC Leader reiterated his call for a thorough investigation into all land deals including those with which he is associated personally and through his law firm, Hughes, Fields and Stoby.

Mr Hughes has been at the centre of a bitter row with the government after he published transactions on his Facebook page involving the then Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Sherwyn Greaves. City businessman, Terrence Campbell has since filed a complaint t0 the United States Department of Justice against someone named Sherwyn Greaves who acquired property in New York.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday also assailed Mr Hughes, calling his action “duplicitous” because on the one hand he criticised the sale of commercial land in Ogle, East Coast Demerara, for GY$30 million per acre while a Trinidadian company for which he was the lawyer purchased 20 acres of land for GY$26 million per acre. Further, the Vice President said Mr Hughes eventually became a director and company secretary for the same Trinidadian company that had also bought 10 acres of land at Earl’s Court for GY$10 million per acre.