A Lethem taxi driver is angry over moves by a prominent businessman in the border community to take over several acres of sand-bearing land, which he has occupied for close to a decade.
According to Desmond Adams, in 2006 he had applied for and was subsequently awarded a 50-year lease for some 640 acres of land for the purposes of farming in an area north of the Old Lethem Industrial Site, close to the border with Brazil.
The Bom Success resident said that since then, he has been paying the requisite fees for the upkeep of the land and according to him he has been preparing the land for agricultural purposes. More recently, approximately five acres of the land have been set aside for cashew production. He has also utilized the land to graze cattle and goats over the years. Adams said that some three months ago, without his consent or knowledge, a prominent businessman in the area entered the fenced area with trucks and removed several loads of sand. He said that after he was made aware of what had happened, he alerted the authorities in the region.
He said the sand was being moved and heaped closer to the community and was being resold by the businessman to residents, private companies, as well as the regional administration for as much as $20,000 per load. Adams said the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) office in the region subsequently launched an investigation into the matter since sand mining fell under its purview.
“… Some time after, they said they gon issue a cease work order [CWO] but I can’t understand if I gat all the documents to show I have the lease to the land why I in this position where I gah fight for the land,” Adams told Stabroek News during a visit to the area on Friday last.
This newspaper saw copies of the lease and receipts which Adams possessed and he also produced a copy of the CWO which was issued on April 12 last. The document which was signed by the mines officer, and which carried the signatures of John Macedo, Adams and the Lethem Police Station, stated that the document was issued because of a land dispute between Macedo and Adams. The reason given was that Macedo’s sand-mining application overlapped with Adams’ application to carry out agricultural activities on the tract of land.
While Macedo could not be reached for a comment over the past several days, Adams told Stabroek News that he will continue to fight for his claim to the land, noting that he relocated to the area several years ago with the intention of contributing towards the development of the region. He said that he found the entire issue “brazen,” adding that he appears to be fighting a losing battle with the mines officials in the region.
Stabroek News was told that sand continues to be removed from the area even though the CWO exists and according to taxi drivers at Lethem, the GGMC needed to reshuffle its staffing in the region since they are not working in an effective manner.
