By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News |
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, has called for a comprehensive state and financial crime investigation into the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) after reports leaked indicating that an estimated $6 billion rates and taxes debt owed by the People’s National Congress Reform’s (PNC/R) asset-holding arm, Maikwak Limited, was slashed to just $20 million to $25 million.
Speaking during his weekly broadcast Issues in the News, a visibly incensed Attorney General labeled the write-off an “act of legal perversity” and an egregious abuse of public office, questioning how a municipal council controlled by PNC/R representatives could lawfully write off billions in statutory revenues owed by its own political parent organization.
Allegations of Financial Crime, Conflict of Interest, and Bias
The debt in question concerns cumulative municipal rates and taxes accrued over decades by Maikwak Limited, the entity that holds registered legal title to real estate assets associated with the PNC/R, including the party’s national headquarters at Congress Place, Sophia:
- Massive Reduction: Internal municipal documents leaked to the public indicate that a debt assessed at roughly $6 billion was reduced to between $20 million and $25 million, eliminating over 99% of the municipal tax liability.
- Severe Conflict of Interest: Nandlall asserted that the decision breaches foundational administrative law principles, citing blatant institutional bias and a fundamental conflict of interest where elected councilors effectively adjudicated debts owed by the entity financing their political movement.
- Unlawful Exercise of Discretion: The Attorney General contended that the Municipal and District Councils Act (Cap. 28:01) grants no carte blanche authority to selectively exempt a single ratepayer from statutory liabilities to the detriment of municipal coffers.
“Where are all the moral masqueraders? Where are they? Don’t they see the prostitution here?” Nandlall exclaimed. “This decision cannot stand; it is absolutely unlawful, whether the City Council has the power or not. This has to be investigated—this amounts to a financial crime. The City Council cannot singularly choose one ratepayer that happens to be its political masters and write off taxes.”
City Hall’s Stance and Mutual Tax Arrears Debate
While the Attorney General directed sharp criticism at the municipal leadership, City Hall administrators and successive PNC/R mayors have long countered that central government agencies have starved the municipality of essential operating revenue.
Both former Mayor Pandit Ubraj Narine and incumbent Mayor Alfred Mentore have repeatedly pointed out that central government ministries, state boards, and public departments collectively owe the municipality more than $5 billion in outstanding rates, taxes, and service charges:
- Calls for Comprehensive Settlement: Municipal leaders have repeatedly called on central government to clear its multi-billion-dollar liabilities so City Hall can deliver drainage, garbage collection, and infrastructure maintenance across the capital.
- Ongoing Verification: The exact resolution formula and legal authorizations the City Council used to compromise the Maikwak Limited liability have not yet been laid before Parliament or formally released by City Hall.
The Attorney General maintained that two wrongs do not make a right, insisting that statutory auditing bodies, the Auditor General, and police investigators step in to scrutinize the transaction.
