NICIL owes taxes to the city

Dear Editor,

The latest answer from Mr Winston Brassington in relation to the details about the money accumulated by NICIL is a show of disdain and disregard for the citizens of Guyana. From our standpoint at City Hall, we had a taste of this already.

NICIL by their unique process disposed of GNIC and ignored the requirement to pay taxes of $70 million due to the Mayor and City Council. We sought recourse to the courts but have not yet received one penny.

What we need from Mr Winston Brassington is:

1.  The sums paid to NICIL since its establishment with the dates of each transaction;

2.  whether the agreed sum was paid in full; if not who still owes and how much and are they paying any interest on the balance;

3.  what means were employed by NICIL to decide on the buyers;

4.  how the purchase price was arrived at;

5.  whether there was an official valuation, and if so, by whom, or was the Government Valuation Division involved;

6.  the actual price paid and whether it was in Guyana dollars;

7.  the names of the bank or banks where the NICIL accounts are held, and the signatories to these accounts;

8.  what NICIL’s money has been spent on;

9.  and why NICIL has failed to satisfy all of its financial obligations to the Georgetown Mayor and City Council in relation to over 12 properties located in the city.

If the people whose property NICIL disposed of fail to obtain satisfactory answers, I will propose a signature campaign, confident that many PPP supporters, fed up with what has transpired will come forward and sign. The law requires owners to pay all taxes due before selling a property. The government for reasons best known to itself, exempted NICIL from this obligation, but this did not remove the legal requirement  for them to pay their due taxes.

Yours faithfully,
Hamilton Green, JP