Minister of Public Service weighs in on allegations that public officers were involved in corrupt land transactions

The issue of gun licenses wasn’t the only one Borja’s murder brought to light. Borja had turned into an informant and met with investigators to explain a corrupt land scheme reportedly carried out by a real estate company and persons at the Land Department. Borja was murdered after a recording of his statement leaked, in which he claimed government workers had assisted him in facilitating corrupt land transactions. Last night, our newsroom asked Minister of the Public Service Henry Charles Usher if it was concerning to hear that public officers in the Lands Department, which was described in the past as a hotbed of corruption, were once again being implicated in alleged wrongdoings. 

Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service: “Any allegations of this nature are concerning. Certainly the Minister of Natural Resources has done an excellent job in trying to curtail the activities that were happening under the previous administration. We know that there were a lot of land scams that were happening, land schemes that were happening under the previous administration and the Deputy Prime Minister has done a job, an excellent job along with his CEO and his team at lands to make sure that is not happening. A lot of what you’re hearing about these allegations happened under the previous administration and we have to make sure that we uncover all of those and that it does not happen again. But let me just say for the record, you know, I have to express my condolences to the family of Mr. Borja. He was killed in a very ruthless and violent manner and certainly if it was because of allegations then it’s something that the police have to investigate.”