A dispute between the government and prominent businessman Sir George Ryan has escalated after government employees were locked out of the Ryan Group of Companies’ building on Old Parham Road, last week, with opposing statements from both parties being aired in the public domain.
The disagreement centers around approximately $10 million in unpaid rent that Sir George claims the government owes him for several departments occupying his properties, while Prime Minister Gaston Browne maintains that Ryan has outstanding tax obligations that must be settled.
“What we have with the government is a bartering agreement; not only word-of-mouth but a written agreement,” Sir George said. “I pay my taxes that I owe and they pay me the rent monthly that they owe.”
However, Sir George claims he has paid over $40 million in taxes to date while receiving nothing in return for years. “For more than four years, they firmly rejected everything.”
He expressed his frustration over repeatedly postponed meetings, negotiations and the overall attitude: “Oh, Ryan can wait,” he attributes to the government.
In response to the lockout, Browne addressed the situation on his weekend radio show, characterizing the businessman’s actions as “hostile” and announcing plans to permanently relocate those offices.
“When you just go high-handedly to go and lock out the government and you try and embarrass the government publicly like that, that’s an act of hostility,” Browne said. “And when you get hostile like that, then you’re telling us you don’t want the government’s business. And then you force us to go elsewhere.”
The PM revealed that Cabinet has decided to house the affected departments in two different government-owned buildings—one near the Office of the Prime Minister and another on St John’s Street—providing “interim accommodation”.
Browne suggested the incident highlights a larger issue. “I believe that the government ought to reduce its reliance on all these rental buildings. A lot of the buildings in them, they’re old, they’re decrepit; they have all kinds of problems.”
While the PM maintained that any outstanding rent would be addressed, he emphasized that tax obligations would be factored in.
“In any situation where we move out of somebody’s property and we owe them, we will get the Ministry of Finance to do a reconciliation of how much we owe them. But that has to be adjusted for outstanding taxes.”
Sir George disputes claims that he owes taxes and says he’s open to negotiation but he doubts the government’s sincerity. “I am willing to negotiate,” he said, though expressing skepticism about meeting with the attorney general, whom he believes “will not come to negotiate in good faith”.
Despite the ongoing dispute, Sir George has stated his commitment to supporting the government. “I will continue to support government in any way, shape or form. But we must honor agreements.”
