Accusing Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo and former Attorney General Anil Nandlall of attempting to tarnish his “incorruptible reputation”, Deputy Director of the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) Aubrey Heath-Retemyer today issued a scathing statement denying that he was involved in any corrupt or illegal acquisition of land.
His statement follows on the heels of accusations made by Jagdeo last week against the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC). During a press conference, Jagdeo said that GLSC, over an 18-month period, engaged in rampant land grabbing by distributing almost 20,000 acres of land to a few persons between last year and now. The SARA Deputy Director was among the many persons named by Jagdeo.
The full statement from Mr Aubrey Heath-Retemyer follows:
The global economic loss due to corrupt practices is approximately US$1 trillion dollars annually. Millions of lives are affected daily due to this scourge, and the beneficiaries of corrupt practices are relentless in attacking those fighting against corruption. It thus comes as no surprise that the former President, who will never govern this land again, and the embattled former Attorney General Anil Nandlall, have once again made cheap attempts to tarnish my incorruptible reputation. It is known that I am the CEO of SARA, a United Nations supported Anti-corruption Agency, and this therefore makes me a prime target of manipulative, wicked, deceitful and corrupt persons who are bent on regaining the access to enrich themselves by stealing the State’s assets.
Jagdeo and his cabal have spared no effort in attempts to discredit SOCU and SARA. Last year Anil Nandlall was on the prowl again as he deliberately and recklessly published the salaries earned by all employees at SARA and included their names – a couple of whom have since been the targets of bandits in separate incidents. On the 27th June, 2019, Jagdeo and Nandlall went on another reckless rampage, publishing the names of myself and other Afro-Guyanese public servants who are in possession of farms lands. It is only fair that I clarify and set the record straight, to debunk the astonishingly foolish and indeed libelous claims of corruption peddled by Bharrat Jagdeo and Anil Nandlall.
I obtained a plot of land at Yarowkabra, and built a house on it 41 years ago (1978). At that time residents were encouraged to apply for 5-10 acres of land for Agricultural purposes. I made such an application in the early 2000s but apparently this was simply ignored. I applied again for 10 acres in 2013, and again in 2014, but my requests for cheap farm lands were never granted under the PPPC administration. My request was finally granted in December 2017 and I obtained 10.14 acres of sand and jungle in Yarowkabra.
It is no secret that Anil Nandall, who is wrongly accusing me of being a beneficiary of corrupt practices, is currently before the criminal courts accused of stealing law books from the State worth millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money. My application for the land at Yarowkabra took so long to process that I applied for an acre of land at mocha, paid for and hence received same through legal means.
All of my life God Almighty in whom I trust has kept me from the temptation of corruption. Can either of you say the same Bharrat Jagdeo and Anil Nandlall? The entire Guyanese population knows the answer to that question. I stand ready to account for all that I have as none of it was achieved by stealing law books or prematurely selling residential land bought from CH&PA at a massive profit then buying more State land cheaply, or by falsifying university certificates, manipulating systems whenever convenient and flouting procurement procedures to give competitive advantages to friends in business.
