Grenada Today - The National Newspaper of Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinique

Sunday, February 27, 2005. That's the day selected by the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to take back the controversial Mt. Hartman lands on behalf of the people of the Tri-island State of Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinique.

A party official told GRENADA TODAY that the Congress party is unhappy with the manner in which the Keith Mitchell-led ruling New National Party (NNP) government handed over the rich agricultural lands to a questionable U.S businessman, Ekram J. Miller to build the multi-million dollar Ritz Carlton hotel.

He said the NDC will mobilise Grenadians to journey to Mt. Hartman to reclaim the lands on behalf of the people. According to the official, the NDC is challenging the manner in which the lands were transferred in the first place by the administration to Miller who failed to build the hotel.

There are unconfirmed reports that the transaction was done on behalf of government by the law firm in St. George's owned by current Governor-General, Sir Daniel Williams. Sir Daniel is himself a former deputy Political Leader of the NNP which under Mitchell's leadership came to power in June 1995.

The official said that it is the understanding the NDC that Miller took possession of the lands without paying a cent into government coffers. "We challenge the government to show us a copy of the receipt for monies collected for the lands at Mt. Hartman", he remarked.

Only last month, news reached the island that the Mitchell government and Miller lost a major legal battle in a London high court to a Belgian Bank that had loaned them monies to facilitate the building of the hotel. The official described the $16.3 million judgement against Miller and Mitchell's NNP government as another "reckless adventure" by the current rulers that would add to the growing national debt.

Miller got the Grenada government in 2000 to sign a guarantee for the loan that he secured and made drawn-downs on from Fortis Bank of Belgium. The bank was forced to institute legal proceedings after Miller failed to make payments on the sum borrowed.

Finance Minister Anthony Boatswain was forced to write to the courts in London in an effort to seek an out of court settlement. "The Government of Grenada expresses its regrets over the extraordinary delay in bringing about closure to this matter, and seeks your further indulgence in having this matter concluded extra judicially", said the letter from Boatswain.

It went on: "As stated in one of our earlier correspondence to Fortis, it was the Government's anticipation that the outstanding sum would have been settled by June of this year, since the government is in an advanced stage of negotiation with an investor who is desirous of purchasing the Mount Hartman and Hogg Island properties."However, due to the intervention of General Elections in Grenada, the Government' s timetable was affected as the negotiations were put on hold.

"Now that the Elections are behind us, Government is optimistic that these negotiations will proceed to finality by the end of January 2004, by which time the Government would be in a position to settle the sum it had agreed to pay by June of this year.

"Therefore, the Government of Grenada further seeks your cooperation for an extension of time to the end of January 2004 to settle this sum, and requests that all pending litigation by Fortis be stayed", the letter said.