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Gov't takes more fire for UDC land deal
Senator Bennett dismisses allegations of bail-out for Hydel
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
THE Opposition People's National Party (PNP) alleged yesterday that the purchase of lands on which the Hydel Group of Schools is located in Ferry, St Catherine seemed to have been guided by the prime minister's personal connection to Hyacinth Bennett, a Government senator.
Bennett, the principal of the school, is a former member of the National Democratic Movement, the political party founded by Prime Minister Bruce Golding when he walked out of the Jamaica Labour Party in 1995. Golding returned to the JLP on the eve of the 2002 general elections.
Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller, at a press conference at her party's Old Hope Road headquarters in Kingston yesterday, said the prime minister's explanation that the land purchase was part of a development plan was in direct contradiction to information contained in a June 2008 report of the Urban Development Corporation's (UDC) investment department, which indicated that the reason for the land purchase was that the school was being forced to close.
However, Bennett, in a statement yesterday fired back at the Opposition for suggesting that the land purchase was a bailout for Hydel, dismissing the Opposition's claim as 'mischievous idle chatter'.
"Hydel has neither owned, sold nor bought any lands whatsoever," Bennett said, and accused the PNP of playing politics. She also dismissed claims that the school was in the red and that it did not have a bursar.
"Hydel is not bankrupt and has had in its employ the same bursar for in excess of 12 years; Hydel is indeed viable," Bennett said.
"What I find noteworthy is that the very same set of politicians and the very same set that worked tooth and nail to close Hydel when we relocated to Ferry in 1995 are now the very same ones who are taking up arms against the school," she added.
The PNP has been crying foul since Golding told Parliament last week that the lands acquired by the UDC at Ferry were earmarked for the development of the Kingston/Spanish Town corridor and confirmed that the Hydel Group of Schools would continue to operate on the land, as a lessee, until it is needed for development.
"The government has taken, as a policy decision, and has given the UDC and the Commissioner of Lands instructions to identify and secure lands along the corridor between Kingston and Spanish Town, to allow for orderly development of that corridor," Golding told the House last Tuesday.
"We envisage that, in the very near future, Kingston and Spanish Town, along with Portmore, will become one huge metropolis," he added.
"We took a decision that critical parcels of land that are not already in the possession of government, we would seek to identify and secure. In the case of this particular property, the owner placed the property up for sale. The operators of Hydel School sought to purchase the property but were unable to secure the financing to do so. The UDC board approved the purchase of the property, in keeping with the development plans we have for the area," he added.
Julian Robinson, deputy general secretary of the PNP told the Observer that there were a number of shadows on the deal since the "UDC's own internal investment department had advised against it".
Furthermore, he said there were also concerns about the value of the property and what it was sold for.
"The owners had initially indicated an interest in selling for US$2 million; subsequent to that there were other valuations which moved it up to about US$2.5 million and the prime minister said he took the mean price of the three valuations; why wouldn't he take the lowest?" Robinson said.
"So there are concerns about the price itself and also the relationship between Senator Bennett and the Government and whether it's appropriate for the Government to be using public funds to, in essence, bail out what is a private educational institution; all the reports indicate that the Hydel Group of Schools was actually in financial problems and was being forced from the property," he said.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/..._LAND_DEAL.asp
Senator Bennett dismisses allegations of bail-out for Hydel
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
THE Opposition People's National Party (PNP) alleged yesterday that the purchase of lands on which the Hydel Group of Schools is located in Ferry, St Catherine seemed to have been guided by the prime minister's personal connection to Hyacinth Bennett, a Government senator.
Bennett, the principal of the school, is a former member of the National Democratic Movement, the political party founded by Prime Minister Bruce Golding when he walked out of the Jamaica Labour Party in 1995. Golding returned to the JLP on the eve of the 2002 general elections.
Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller, at a press conference at her party's Old Hope Road headquarters in Kingston yesterday, said the prime minister's explanation that the land purchase was part of a development plan was in direct contradiction to information contained in a June 2008 report of the Urban Development Corporation's (UDC) investment department, which indicated that the reason for the land purchase was that the school was being forced to close.
However, Bennett, in a statement yesterday fired back at the Opposition for suggesting that the land purchase was a bailout for Hydel, dismissing the Opposition's claim as 'mischievous idle chatter'.
"Hydel has neither owned, sold nor bought any lands whatsoever," Bennett said, and accused the PNP of playing politics. She also dismissed claims that the school was in the red and that it did not have a bursar.
"Hydel is not bankrupt and has had in its employ the same bursar for in excess of 12 years; Hydel is indeed viable," Bennett said.
"What I find noteworthy is that the very same set of politicians and the very same set that worked tooth and nail to close Hydel when we relocated to Ferry in 1995 are now the very same ones who are taking up arms against the school," she added.
The PNP has been crying foul since Golding told Parliament last week that the lands acquired by the UDC at Ferry were earmarked for the development of the Kingston/Spanish Town corridor and confirmed that the Hydel Group of Schools would continue to operate on the land, as a lessee, until it is needed for development.
"The government has taken, as a policy decision, and has given the UDC and the Commissioner of Lands instructions to identify and secure lands along the corridor between Kingston and Spanish Town, to allow for orderly development of that corridor," Golding told the House last Tuesday.
"We envisage that, in the very near future, Kingston and Spanish Town, along with Portmore, will become one huge metropolis," he added.
"We took a decision that critical parcels of land that are not already in the possession of government, we would seek to identify and secure. In the case of this particular property, the owner placed the property up for sale. The operators of Hydel School sought to purchase the property but were unable to secure the financing to do so. The UDC board approved the purchase of the property, in keeping with the development plans we have for the area," he added.
Julian Robinson, deputy general secretary of the PNP told the Observer that there were a number of shadows on the deal since the "UDC's own internal investment department had advised against it".
Furthermore, he said there were also concerns about the value of the property and what it was sold for.
"The owners had initially indicated an interest in selling for US$2 million; subsequent to that there were other valuations which moved it up to about US$2.5 million and the prime minister said he took the mean price of the three valuations; why wouldn't he take the lowest?" Robinson said.
"So there are concerns about the price itself and also the relationship between Senator Bennett and the Government and whether it's appropriate for the Government to be using public funds to, in essence, bail out what is a private educational institution; all the reports indicate that the Hydel Group of Schools was actually in financial problems and was being forced from the property," he said.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/..._LAND_DEAL.asp
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