Opposition Executive, Gail Teixeira, is querying the legitimacy of government’s move to issue grants of land titles to several Indigenous communities.
The move to issue these titles was greenlighted by Cabinet when it met last week. Making the disclosure was Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon when he spoke at the post-Cabinet press briefing last Friday.
Teixeira is questioning under what authority will the President sign such absolute grants and titles when the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) “explicitly ruled” in its consequential orders of July 12 that the government will be a caretaker government with restricted legal authority.
President David Granger, himself, has acknowledged the restraint imposed upon his administration following the passage of the no-confidence motion. In July of this year, he said that government is expected to behave, during this interim period, as a caretaker and restrain the exercise of its legal authority.
Teixeira is contending, therefore, that this announcement to issue land titles was done by the administration in an attempt to garner votes in Indigenous communities.
“Without the no-confidence vote and the growing demand for now long overdue elections since March 21, 2019, the caretaker government would not have moved an inch to issue any absolute grants. This last minute ditch to win votes in Amerindian communities during Amerindian Heritage Month is just an election gimmick.” She said.
The Politician said that the Peoples’ Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), had left some US$10M for Amerindian Land Titling when it was voted out of office in 2015. She said that since then, the opposition would have raised the issue of no titles and extensions being granted in the National Assembly, in the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources and at many other fora.
“This is another election ruse by a caretaker government…The Guyanese people remember the plethora of promises of decriminalising marijuana and amending the sentencing for small quantities, the promise of 20% salary increases for public servants and teachers, just to name a few. All are broken promises.” Teixeira said
