The continued closure of streets surrounding the Camp Street prison has sounded the death knell of the Guyana Variety Store and Nut Centre, proprietor of the business John Singh said.
Singh had indicated that the barricades on streets around the prison had proved detrimental to his business in what was once an extremely vibrant area. He officially closed the business two weeks ago, after he received no response from a number of government officials he had written to, making his concerns known.
The store is located obliquely opposite the Camp Street entrance to the prison and since the barricades were erected late last year, Singh said, there had been a marked decline in business forcing him to lay off five employees. The man told this newspaper recently that he had dispatched letters to Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee and several other government ministers, but in six weeks, had received no response.
“We are unable to keep the business afloat and so we have to close the doors because nothing is happening,” he said. Singh has since placed a ‘for rent’ sign outside the business place but said he was questioning who would rent the place.
The man said the street closure was unfair to him since he had recently spent over $600 million to refurbish the entire building and made a number of other investments. “What should I do from here? What should I do from here?,” the man queried.
Singh said he was surprised that he never received any explanation from the authorities he penned letters to and was concerned about what such a situation said about investments in Guyana. “What will happen to my investment? And where is the help from government for small business enterprises?
“This just dampened my spirit in the country and especially now that we have so much crime,” he added. Singh told Stabroek News that he was concluding negotiations to acquire the plot of land next door to the store, which is currently utilized by the prison service. However, he said, this made him more concerned since it seemed he would lose out both ways.
“Someone could have said something. But it has been six weeks and I have gotten not a single word from any of them,” he stressed.
Singh explained that he was a vendor for the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) and because business had dropped dramatically he had to explain to the company since it would be affected as well as he now only had one store instead of the two he had when he entered into the agreement.
According to Singh, on December 1 last year he noticed a sign painted on Camp Street between Bent and D’Urban streets which said that on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays no vehicle would be allowed to enter that area from 7 am to 6 pm. Singh said in the past, on Tuesdays and Thursdays the road would usually be blocked but recently the road has been blocked all day and night and this had taken a toll on his business.
The man said he was never informed of the decision made by the authorities and had contacted Director of Prisons Dale Erskine about the issue. He said Erskine told him that he was aware that in order to access his store customers would have to walk to the store from a corner away. Singh said the director then advised him to write to the relevant authorities about the issue.
Erskine, when contacted by this newspaper, had said that the changing nature of crime demanded a change in posture by the security forces and added that until such time as the situation changed, security arrangements had to take precedence over Singh’s concerns. He had also acknowledged that he had told Singh that nothing could be done to change the security arrangements at the moment.
Erskine said while he clearly understood the man’s concerns, the barricades were put there for security reasons. “I understand his plight as a businessman but we have security responsibilities and we have to be able to respond properly whenever there is any threat to security.” However, the director admitted that neither Singh nor any other business was told of the extended security arrangements and he acknowledged that this could have been done by the Officer in Charge of the prison.
