Soldiers attached to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) base at Lethem who “assisted” in “rescuing” some stock when fire destroyed Wayka’s Business Complex on Monday night also looted some items, President of the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) Alfred Ramsaran has alleged.
Contacted yesterday, Public Affairs Officer of the GDF Windee Algernon said that she was unaware of the allegations made. However, she said she would try to get some information would send out a press release accordingly. No statement was forthcoming up to yesterday afternoon.
Ramsaran told Stabroek News that they were aware that some of the soldiers who were assisting took away cellular phones. “They were caught going away with it and they were taken away and so on,” he said. Earlier, he had told this newspaper that although the police were there, they did not fully cordon off the area and there was some amount of looting of items like cellular phones. “People come in and just pick up stuff,” he had said. At the time, he had noted that reports were that soldiers were among the people who carried away items.
Only a small number of items were rescued from the business, which was gutted by the fire. On the night of Valentine’s Day, the fire, whose origin has not yet been determined, destroyed the business complex, which comprised a series of connected structures and housed a general store, a bond, and internet café as well as living quarters in the rear, where owner Ann Ramsaran and her daughters lived. Millions in stock were lost and 15 persons were left without jobs.
Up to yesterday, Guyana Fire Service investigators were still in the community, close to the border with Brazil. The RCCI President, who is Ann Ramsaran’s brother, said there has not yet been a final estimate of the losses. He noted that his sister has lost everything and would not be doing any rebuilding at the moment.
The store had targeted the Brazilian market and the loss of stock alone has been estimated at around $200 million. Fifteen persons were left jobless. In the wake of the fire, residents restated the urgent need for a fire station in the growing border community.
Several regional officials had noted that they had long lobbied for a fire service station to be established there but their pleas were not heeded.
