Rift seen in Lands and Surveys Commission

– after President upends privately done work in favour of agency

Santa Fe, the mega-farm in the Rupununi was last month at the heart of a dispute involving land surveying which saw the intervention of President Donald Ramotar who ordered that the privately done survey be cancelled and redone by the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC), but the repercussions have revealed that there are divisions in the agency.

“The survey could have been done by GL&SC, but it appears that a private surveyor is being identified for the work, which could result in the loss of revenue for GL&SC of over $10 million,” Commissioner of the GL&SC Doorga Persaud said in correspondence to top officials including Ramotar and Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon. In the correspondence which was seen by Stabroek News, Persaud said that following the instructions of the President, he was going to cancel all arrangements for a private surveyor to do the work in Region 9 and that the GL&SC would conduct the survey.

The GL&SC has statutory responsibility for all public lands in Guyana and based on the correspondence, Santa Fe was in the process of contracting surveying work to a private contractor, a move which was not welcomed by some senior officials.

Santa Fe, which is operated by the Simpson Group of Companies out of Barbados has been in the spotlight recently over the use of chemicals on the farm in the North Rupununi. It has declined requests by Stabroek News for an interview on its investment and all the information on it, prior to a recent statement quoted by the Ministry of Natural Resources, has been provided by the Government Information Agency (GINA).

Officials appear to blame a senior manager at the GL&SC for giving the go-ahead to the company to contract out the surveys, but he defended it as necessary given the higher costs and “slow” reaction of the GL&SC. The official was critical of the “thumb-twiddling, lack of self-confidence and incompetencies” at senior levels of the Survey Division and alluded to a “witch hunt” as well as a desire by some in the commission to “get-even.”

Emails on the matter suggested there was infighting among officials at the commission.

In this case, based on a letter from a senior official at the commission, the issue began when an internal inquiry was initiated into the whereabouts of a surveyor. In response to communications from Persaud, the official, who was on leave at the time, informed him that before he left, he had made the whereabouts of the surveyor known. He also said that upon making further checks, it was apparent that there was more to the issue.

The official explained that he had sent the surveyor on an assignment in Region 9 that involved the inspection of 20,000 acres. “This instruction was given on a weekend. I subsequently diverted him to deal with certain other matters, one involving an overseas request. One of the parties provided a chartered aircraft at short notice to complete the exercise and bring him back,” the official wrote in correspondence to Persaud which was subsequently forwarded to the President.

The official said that he also took the opportunity to let the surveyor finalise the descriptions of Johil Green Farms due to the occupancy of another person. “I advised the surveyors on that exercise and Santa Fe to make themselves available so that the boundaries could be sorted out. He overspent his time due to these other exercises,” the official wrote.

He named two officials who he said seemed to have issues with Santa Fe. “Santa Fe is a major investment in this country and I have been behind it for many years now. This is a company that does not have time to waste.

“I will not stand around and see people who are accustomed to fooling around with big projects allow my work to be hindered,” the official wrote. “I cleared the survey for Santa Fe and several other major investments as soon as I received the necessary information,” he said, while noting another senior official was on leave at the time and “I am fully aware that in his absence, senior level supervision and decision making is… mediocre and I have no apologies to make to anyone for saying this.”

The official said that he met the parties and finalised the descriptions “even while the Survey section was still foot dragging.”

He said that he provided estimates for surveys – “prepared by competent surveyors from the survey division” – to several developers and negotiated final costs. He said that he had secured commitments from Bluewave at 70% of the commission’s original cost and China Paper.

“Santa Fe sought quotations from several persons and it was not possible for the Commission to match those costs (almost 55% lower) since our overheads are much higher and the slow pace of our reaction to get such surveys completed all did not fit with Santa Fe’s plans. I don’t think anyone protested when Santa Fe gave their first job to Mr Rutherford and a Brazilian company,” the official wrote.

He said that at the request of Santa Fe, he gave the go-ahead for field work to commence since he had already signed off the clearance letter. The official said that he was proceeding on leave while another  manager was still off and “I needed to have certain changes to the descriptions fully understood before I left and I am fully aware of senior level thumb twiddling, lack of self confidence and incompetencies” in the Survey Division.

“I see no issue with this since the survey still has to be checked and a plan needs to be submitted, it is absolute nonsense and a deliberate attempt to destabilise (major) investment projects by persons who have no foresight as to the need for cost efficiency and timeliness by the private sector,” the official wrote.

The action of the official appears to have displeased other officials and a report was sent to the President. In one email, Luncheon told Persaud that he had “heard the vibes” and ordered him to prepare a brief for Ramotar. Responding, Persaud wrote, “I am happy that you are picking up the vibes, but we need to act quickly and decisively. It is important to note that (name of official) had sometime ago applied for early retirement and he is entitled to this, but the application is stuck at the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.”

“Your intervention and that of His Excellency the President would be most welcome in dealing with this matter,” he added.

In subsequent correspondence, Persaud said that the matter would require a full investigation by a competent team of persons outside of GL&SC. He suggested a sub-committee from the board of the commission. The status of this investigation is unclear.

The official in his letter, defended the actions. “I am very sure that persons were (quietly) awaiting my departure to raise these issues but I am prepared to back any one of my staff who responds to my request to execute any aspect of their job at my request. If any protocol was missed by the officer due to the need to expedite certain activities then I apologise for this and take the blame. I will not allow this witch hunt to continue,” he said.

Earlier the official said that if anyone has a problem with him sending his staff on an assignment then “let them blame me and deal with me.” The official said that the surveyor was following instructions and did nothing wrong. “I am fully aware that there are elements at GLSC who would like to see the back of me…” the official said. He added that he is prepared to leave and had sent in his request to do so and “I am still waiting for a reply.”

“Persons should not try to get at me through the few dedicated staff that I can call on at any time to do anything,” the official wrote.

He identified several surveyors who he said are some of the best young surveyors that have emerged from GLSC and who are always willing to give of their best for the commission. “I can call on these persons anytime and they stand ready to pull (their) weight. They do not refuse assignments based on location or relative difficulty, they do not fake illness, they go anywhere and give it their best shot,” he said.