Former PM Mitchell land deal under investigation

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada-IN a continuing effort to distance themselves from the recently ousted Keith Mitchell administration, PrimeMinister Tillman Thomas and his administration will be investigating a land deal involving Formula One racecar driver Lewis Hamilton.

According to CMC, the newly established Grenada Advisory Committee will look into the “red flag” deal which allowed Hamilton, who is of Grenadian descent on his father’s side, to purchase large tracts of state owned lands in exchange for a sponsorship deal with the government’s tourism authority.

The deal was allegedly finished on July 7, one day before the fated elections which ousted Mitchell’s New National Party this year. 

Advisory Committee member Lloyd Neal outlined the details of the deal in a recent press conference.

“The deed which I have in my possession says that the Government of Grenada agrees to transfer the freehold of the lands to Hamilton free of encumbrances, subject to the said lease for the value of US$15 million, which said value would be realised by Hamilton giving the government the right to use and reproduce approved photographs and recordings to promote Grenada for a period of four years.”~~Adz:Right~~

Noel further stated that it is his opinion the deal is detrimental to the people of Grenada and should be declared “null and void”.
Caribbean Net News reported that the land deed for the deal was never fully notarized by the Deeds and Lands Registry because “some concerned civil servants in the Ministry of Finance could not decide how many stamps were required to cover the value for the Hamilton's name and photographs”.

Adding the land deal to an ever-growing list of corruption allegations against his government, Mitchell defended his decision to ‘give away’ the lands to Hamilton by saying that “the exposure of Lewis Hamilton [would] give Grenada in one year…10 years worth of the annual tourism budget.”