Two days before the March 2nd polls, the David Granger-led Cabinet approved the agreement for the sale of land at Ogle earmarked for an ambitious Caribbean Marketing Enterprises Inc. (CMEI) hotels project and later issued an order for the transfer of the title although the company failed to meet agreed terms, including the submission of records for due diligence and a 50% down payment, a review has found.
As a result, Attorney General Anil Nandlall has said that police would be asked to investigate the sale for possible criminal conduct, while he is calling on the company to return the land to the state and reapply by sending an expression of interest.
The land, some 21,096 acres previously used for cane cultivation, was formerly owned by GuySuCo but subsequently vested in the government holding company, the National Industrial & Commercial Investments Ltd. (NICIL) through the Special Purpose Unit set up to dispose of the sugar company’s assets. An internal review that has been done by NICIL has since found that neither the government company nor CMEI fulfilled crucial obligations before, during and after the execution of the sale agreement.
