Dear Editor,
The Ministry of Housing & Water has treated my mother Evanghn Naughton with disrespect.
The office at Linden prepared a letter dated April 11, 2014 then asked my 75 year old mother to sign. Operations manager, Ms. Sattan however made contact with the Linden office on April 15, 2015 and was told, and I quote, “I did not write that letter and no one here in my office wrote it”. My mother cannot read and write properly so to have prepared such a letter would have been impossible for her to have done. If they had advised my mother what to write she would forget within minutes of hearing the details. She is old and is not educated with the knowledge required to prepare such a letter.
If my mother had prepared such a letter, her children would have known about it. She has two sons around her at all times and one of whom is an auditor and I have worked in accounting and administration for five years in Canada. The Linden office prepared the April 11, 2014 letter and likely told my mother that once the letter is signed she will receive her new lot #4972. My mother believed them so she signed with hope of receiving what she had paid for in May 2009.
On April 7, 2015 after days of talks with supervisors and managers at the ministry at 41 Brickdam, a cheque was written as a refund on a lot #3639 purchased in May 2009. The offices at Linden and Georgetown have refused to transfer the payment $92,000 that was made in May 2009 for lot #3639 towards lot #4972 that was offered in 2013. The ministry made it clear that we have to take a refund and it was the only way for us to get the new lot #4972.
My mother was advised by the Linden office that she needed to go to Georgetown to obtain the refund so I made the journey as my mother is 75 years old and sick. It did not make any sense to me when they stated that the only way for us to get the new lot was to request a refund of $92,000 that was paid in full back in 2009. I spoke with Ms. Jones and Ms. Sattan at the Georgetown office who both told me the same story so I proceeded and requested the refund.
The lot #4972 that was offered to my mother on November 25, 2013 does not really exist. In conversation with the surveyor on April 15, 2015, I was advised that lot #4972 will not be ready anytime soon as the road is yet to be cut. He went on to say, it may be ready later on in the year.
For my mother, that is not good enough. The Ministry of Housing kept my mother’s $92,000 for six years and never gave her a house-lot. So why did they send a letter in 2013 offering my mother a lot #4972 knowing that it is not available for use. Two years later, 2015, it is not ready!
On April 15, 2015 I requested to meet with the Minister of Housing but I was advised that he was not available to see me. I was not given a scheduled appointment to meet the minister nor was I advised of a “meet the minister day”. I advised the ministry on April 15, 2015 that what they are doing to my mother was an abuse so the minister needs to know about my issue. I also advised the ministry that they needed to find a house-lot that is ready so my mother can build. They then said; my mother needed to make such a request. They continued by saying if my mother would like an area other than Linden they would accommodate her.
I advised the ministry that my mother was in the building but they did not seem very happy to hear that information. Their story began to change; they were no longer willing to accommodate her with a new area lot that is ready for building. The ministry stated that she has already been given a lot #4972 so they are unable to make changes.
On April 15, 2015 my mother made a request for a copy of the letter she had signed that is dated April 11, 2014. The Ministry of Housing at 41 Brickdam has that document on location.
But they told the 75 year old woman that they cannot give her a copy and that she needed to go back to Linden to obtain one. My mother is a born Guyanese citizen and she is a senior but the Ministry of Housing has no regards and respect. My sick mother was sent away to spend money to travel back to Linden for a document they have right in front of their faces.
My mother paid $20,000 in 2009 to clean and clear lot #3639 aka lot #4579 after which this government took back that lot and gave it to someone else. On November 25, 2013, over four years later, the Ministry of Housing at Linden made an offer to my mother with lot #4972 but as we know lot #4972’s area is still not cleared for surveyors to enter. This is two years later in 2015 and this area is not ready for my mother!
Yours faithfully,
J. DeMattos
