After serving for almost thirty years as the self-appointed caretakers of an old tannery at a Ruimveldt Industrial Estate premises, two middle-aged brothers have been told that they have to relocate.
Fifty-seven year old Keith Grant and his younger brother Glen Grant aged 56, have lived on the site located on Plot 30 Ruimveldt, Industrial Estate which is located next to the Twin’s Manufacturing Company for the last 29 years. On Thursday, the brothers explained to Stabroek News, two representatives from the National Industrial & Commercial Investment Ltd visited their residence and told them that they had seven days to vacate the premises since the land was now under their purview. According to the men, they were told that over $12M worth of taxes on the property was due.
The land was owned by businessman Clarence Gibbs who managed the company C& M Gibbs & Sons. Stabroek News was told that the land was given to Gibbs by the late President Forbes Burnham in 1979. Gibbs set up a tannery at the premises – a place where acidic chemical compounds are applied to animal hides to produce leather. Gibbs owned a stall in the Stabroek Market where he sold leather products.
The two brothers explained how they came to live at this particular location. According to them they are family friends of the Gibbs family and decided to stay and aid in the production while overseeing the premise. And they stayed on even when operations stopped at this location some years ago. The building which housed the tannery is now run-down with several holes in the roof and several zinc sheets have become detached from the building. The men, however, have developed a makeshift system and whenever it rains they seek shelter in the area which has been indentified as their bedroom. The yard is overtaken with bush which is interspersed with a few plants cultivated by Glen.
Glen described himself as a farmer who does some construction work. When this newspaper was on the scene he pointed to cassava, bananas, peppers, papaws and mangoes which he said, he had planted. He said that normally he is around to keep things in order but explained that he also does odd jobs around and this sometimes takes him away from his home. Recently, he completed some jobs in Yarrowkabra and consequently has not had enough time to attend to the yard, he told this newspaper.
The elder brother Keith Grant is a security guard at the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre. He said that he is a former member of the police force as well as the army. He has three daughters and a reputed wife who reside at Mocha, but it was not very practical for him to go and live there.
Both men said they were surprised at the sudden order to vacate the premises and are wondering if they do move if they will be compensated in any way. They said that they are not wealthy and would find it difficult if they had to relocate at this stage of their lives.
Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs, one of the sons of Clarence Gibbs said that his family intends to fight the decision in court since he insists that the land belongs to his family. He told Stabroek News that a matter regarding ownership had previously been brought before the court in 1991 and it was decided that the property belonged to the Gibbs family. When asked about the $12M taxes mentioned by the officials, he said that he was unaware of that, but said that if that was the case, his family was willing to work out arrangements with the relevant authorities.
The son explained that although the place was run-down the family members still had plans to restart work at the tannery. He was unable to say exactly when the production stopped.
The land was recently advertised in the press for sale by tender. Tenders were to be directed to the Executive Director of the National Industrial & Commercial Investments Ltd.