Dear Editor,
When someone who owned property dies, if there is a will, then that will has to be probated, but if there is no will then the beneficiaries (or relatives) of the deceased, will apply for Letters of Administration (LA). In either case the application has to be examined and signed by the Estate Duty Officer, who is employed by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). The Estate Duty Officer has an office in Georgetown on the third floor of GPO Building.
To file an application with the court, a list of assets and liabilities together with a Certificate of Proper Officer must be submitted. The Estate Duty Officer issues the Certificate of Proper Officer.
This officer used to grace the Ancient County once per month, but for over a year now we have been deprived of that privilege. So now Berbicians must travel to Georgetown (like they do to get new passports) and find the Estate Duty Officer, who sits in a corner of a building many Berbicians have not seen, and have him examine their documents. If he finds an error or anything that is not appropriate, the person has to go right back to Berbice and return another day.
It does not seem to be appreciated that Berbice is a bit far from Georgetown and that some of the persons who bring their documents are old or cannot read well or have just lost a loved one. He makes his decision and sends the person away. If when the person returns there are other errors, they will be sent away again. I know of two persons who went through the same drill twice. What great service we get in Berbice.
And why has the Estate Duty Officer stopped coming to Berbice? I have been told that he is not being paid his travelling expenses and allowance. Why are we even paying taxes? Should our money only be used to build posh hotels (which are eventually sold to some foreigners and our contribution disappears) or should we get some service for our tax dollars?
Let me conclude by saying that many of the persons who have to go through the process of applying for probates or LAs are usually very old and have a difficult time moving around in their own homes let alone travelling to Georgetown. Mr Kurshid Sattaur should do something to change his Authority’s attitude towards Berbicians. Maybe President Bharrat Jagdeo can make it an election campaign move and have us receive first-class treatment by ensuring an officer visits Berbice twice per week. After all the PPP/C will have to do a lot to get votes in the upcoming election.
Yours faithfully,
Charrandass Persaud
Editor’s note
We are sending a copy of this letter to Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Mr Khurshid Sattaur, for any comment he might wish to make.