Headlines:
| Dean Peart defends his stewardship |
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| Friday, 15 February 2008 | |
 The man who was responsible for the Land Ministry under
the former People's National party (PNP) administration is defending his
stewardship amidst questions surrounding several land deals which took place
under his watch.Dean Peart who was Minister of Land and the Environment has insisted that the divestments were not shady. He said procedures which were in place at that time for the sale of crown lands were properly followed. "The applications were made, the proper investigations done and recommendations made to the minister, who then approved them. So no hanky-panky in (anything) that happened," Mr. Peart said. He was responding to a report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday February 12th by Agriculture Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton. The report revealed that persons aligned to the PNP as well as several public and private sector companies purchased and leased state lands without the approval of the Land Divestment Committee. In addition, the report said the lands were not advertised. |