Dear Editor,
I would firstly like to thank you for the support you have given the people of Guyana in the form of a nationwide forum where citizens without connections to power people can have their problems, and the failures of various institutions within the Guyanese society, being brought to the attention of the general public. As you may recall, in early November last year, you published a letter I had written to the Editor regarding the three year delay in the granting of a Court Order by the Honourable Justice Gino Persaud, even though the matter was completed. To our delight, within a week after you published my letter, the Honourable Judge gave his verdict.
To recap, we went to court to have the Public Trustee dispose of a family estate to which four siblings are beneficiaries, and divide the money equally amongst the four beneficiaries after deduction of expenses. The Public Trustee was
appointed Administrator of our family estate by the late Justice Ian Chang in 2015. Over the many years the Public Trustee has been administering the estate, they never visited the estate and tried to resolve the family dispute, such as blocking of driveway, demolition of houses by one sibling, and so on. We provided more than enough evidences to support our claim of how difficult it had been to live on the property. Violence and damages never seemed to end. Honourable Justice Gino Persaud gave his ruling, and some of the key points in his order as follows:
1. The Administrator Public Trustee must apply for a Valuation from the Government Valuation Department for the property.
2. The Administrator Public Trustee must advertise the property in 2 widely circulated newspapers.
3. The property must be sold at the best market value.
It took almost one month for the Public Trustee to acquire the Certificate of Value from the Government Valuation Department. We indicated to the Public Trustee that we have at least 2 buyers in waiting who are willing to pay the current market value. If one of the siblings who has been using the estate solely for his benefit, and against the will of the others would like to buy, he is also free to make an offer in response to the ad. My main concern at this point in time is the delay by the Public Trustee in having the property advertised in two widely circulated newspapers.
I had been told that the property would be advertised within few days, and I kept buying all the papers every day. My living room is in a mess. The couch, the table, on top the TV… papers here, papers there, papers everywhere. I am wondering if there are certain officials at the Public Trustee who are waiting on the perfect buyer; buyer who can offer terms that are not just favourable to us, but to them also.
Sincerely,
Fazal Gafoor
