Many of my friends, aquaintances and business associates may have read in the Kaieteur News on December 17 an article captioned ‘Businessman suffers as a result of GRA corruption -purchased unregistered vehicle,’ which involved a vehicle I had sold before leaving Guyana for the UK. The article appears to suggest that I, David Burgess, was involved in unfair dealings during the course of selling a vehicle.
The article states that the vehicle was brought into Guyana illegally and suggests that paperwork was procured from the GRA by me, or with my knowledge or possibly with my consent. Let me make this perfectly clear to all interested parties – and I will be speaking personally to Mr Nauth – I was the third owner of the vehicle with no questions at any time during my ownership of incorrect documents or unpaid taxes.
I advertised this vehicle and a deposit was paid by Mr Nauth. The GRA was approached by my manager who had some difficulty in immediately issuing the change of ownership document and Road Service Licence. Apparently the clerk said that he couldn’t find the vehicle history, but said this may be because of changes to their procedures and a new computerised system. It was suggested that the previous owner be contacted to clarify the position. The previous owner, [name provided] was happy to discuss the query with the GRA and apparently dealt with any history issues as documents were issued some two weeks later. These were handed to Mr Nauth and the balance was paid. By the way, Mr Nauth also purchased a pick-up which presumably is fine.
Whatever occurred here, does not and should not implicate or compromise me or my agents in any unfair or illegal dealings. What has apparently come to the surface is either poor administration or indeed, as suggested, something more serious.
My family and I left Guyana after eight good years with our heads up high, knowing that we had contributed in many ways to various charities, activities and to the community. We always did our best for Guyana and we wouldn’t expect anyone to believe differently.
Yours faithfully,
David Burgess
