MONTEGO BAY, St James — The ghost of the controversial Bogue Lands which are owned by the St James Parish Council but which have been for over a decade informally occupied by business interests, has resurfaced in the People’s National Party (PNP)-led council.

Leader of the minority caucus, Councillor of the Montego Bay North East division, Charles Sinclair, has accused Mayor of Montego Bay Councillor Glendon Harris of surrendering the council’s right to collect six years’ back rent and seeking to sell the property at the 2009 value instead of the current market price.

Sinclair argued that the mayor’s actions smack of nepotism, fiscal mismanagement and cover-up.

“These are but some of the issues that need to be discussed so that the public can make a proper assessment when we see the mayor’s push to waive the council’s right to collect six years’ back rent and to dispose of the property at the 2009 value and not the current value. These are but some of the reasons why I arrived at the opinion that the mayor hastily adjourned the general council meeting of January 8, 2015,” Sinclair stated in a release.

“If the mayor is confident that he and his administration have nothing to hide, open up the file relating to the Bogue Lands to public scrutiny. I am willing to debate him anywhere and anytime on the matter.”

But Mayor Harris, in a telephone interview with the Observer West, fired back at Sinclair, claiming that during his time at the helm of the St James Parish Council, he [Sinclair] stopped the occupiers of the land from paying their lease.

“Interestingly, Charles Sinclair was the one that wrote to council that a part of the land be sold to his client. That was prior to his entry into politics and he was the one who stopped the people from paying their lease for the property after it was decided that they pay a lease for the land (during his tenure as mayor),” Mayor Harris charged.

The mayor said that the decision to sell the parcel of land to the over 30 occupiers at the 2009 value, stems from the Council’s inability to finance another valuation exercise, considering that one was also done six years before the 2009 evaluation.

“Cabinet approved the sale of the land. They (JLP-led council) did not carry it out ,and what we are saying now is that it was valued in 2003, valued in 2009, it is now going to take millions of dollars to revalue it. We can’t afford another valuation now. So what we suggest is that we sell them at the 2009 valuation, plus additional infrastructure cost,” Harris told the Observer West.

He also explained that in an effort to resolve the long, drawn-out issue, it has been suggested that instead of resuming the collection of lease, the occupiers should pay a deposit on the lands.

“We are not waiving that right (to pay lease). What we do…. we say okay, there must be a resolution on the whole thing and as far as it goes we meet with them because the thing has been dragging on and on. That money (lease) can now be collected as a deposit for the purchase of the land so that we can move into it right away. That is what we have on the table. We have had several meetings with them (occupiers) because we want it to be resolved and that is where we are at now,” Harris expressed.

He noted that the council is in desperate need for the money from the sale of the land to construct a proposed multi-storey transportation centre in the resort city.

“We will seek permission to go in that way because we want a resolve to the matter. We also need the money to invest into our municipal parking facilities; we can make high-rise parking in Montego Bay,” the Montego Bay mayor said.

In 2003, Cabinet approved the sale of the lands following an inquiry, which followed accusations that a People’s National Party-controlled St James Parish Council parcelled out the Bogue Lands to supporters and family members.

The sitting of last month’s parish council meeting was abruptly adjourned after Sinclair refused to sit at the mayor’s request, following an exchange of salvos between the two over the controversial land issue.

Meanwhile, Sinclair believes that this matter is so grave that he has written to the prime minister, the auditor general and the Contractor General for them to intervene.