Housing and Water Minister, Irfaan Ali has sued the National Media and Publishing Company Limited, publishers of Kaieteur News over what it deemed a scandalous article on the acquisition of a former GuySuCo-owned property at Leonora, West Coast Demerara. The Gy$ 100 million lawsuit together with an injunction, restraining the newspaper from continuing to publish articles on the issue was filed by Attorney Parag Hukumchand.
Attorney Hukumchand said that they went to the High Court for an injunction, and it was granted by Justice Diana Fazeela-Insanally. When contacted by Guyana Times International, the attorney said that the article in question published by Kaieteur News was “libelous so we went to court”.
Since Monday, Ali had threatened to take legal action against the Saffon Street based newspaper company.
And on Wednesday, the Office of the President (OP) said it views with extreme distaste the resort of Kaieteur News to defame the character of the housing minister in the articles that sought to link his acquisition of the property with corruption.
“The recent Kaieteur News headlines that targeted Minister Irfaan Ali are the latest in the series of yellow journalistic activities,” OP said in a statement Wednesday night. “The Office of the President rejects such underhand tactics intended to demean and question the probity of the young minister. Minister Ali has made significant contributions to the development of Guyana, particularly in the Housing and Water sectors.”
Publisher Glenn Lall
OP said it also rejects the malicious effort and anticipates that Minister Ali’s disclosures would continue to justify the confidence of the administration and the Guyanese people in him. “The public is warned that these examples of yellow journalism are now known to be a part of a dedicated plan to discredit government personalities, and thus the administration. The Office of the President will continue to expose the intellectual authors and their wicked designs,” the statement concluded.
A few days ago Ali had cause to clarify details of his acquisition of the property and at the same time condemned the Kaieteur News for misrepresenting the facts of the purchase in a “devious and sensational” article on New Year’s Day. In the article captioned “After two years as Minister… Irfaan Ali builds mansion with poolhouse,” KN described the construction of the house, noting that it appears to accommodate eight bedrooms, a large living room, a detached kitchen and a walkway that runs around the front of the building.
Kaieteur News said too that the cost of the construction which is nearing completion is estimated at more than Gy$300 million. However, in response to the article, Ali clarified that the property in question was acquired before he assumed office as a minister of the government, and it has been almost four years now since he has been struggling to complete work on the property.
“Thirdly, the house referred to as mansion house was an old wooden house owned by GuySuCo. After acquisition, it is the same property that was rehabilitated and retro- itted.”
Ali said that more 70 per cent of the house remained in the same material and style that was there on acquisition. He noted that the only completely new piece of construction was that referred to as the poolhouse.
Additionally, the minister said that the acquisition of the house was no “secret or unscrupulous deal,” pointing out that the property was publicly advertised for sale before he became a minister.
“As any other Guyanese, I placed a bid for the property and my bid was the highest bid price offered. So what is secret and unscrupulous about this?” he asked. Ali asserted that “This devious act by Kaieteur News was aimed at a personal attack to my family and I. When someone builds a house, it is meant to be their home, a personal sanctuary where they feel secure and private. It is clear that the motive of Kaieteur News was to mislead and expose myself and family to security and other harm”. Ali said it is against this background that his lawyers would now look at the consequences of “this personal invasion based on lies and mischief”.
