Dear Editor,
If my recollection is correct, sometime in 2014, the late Justice Ian Chang appointed a Public Trustee as the Administrator of our family estate, located on the southern side of the Good Hope Public Road, Good Hope, East Coast Demerara. He did that because I had applied to the court for permission to administer the estate and two of the four beneficiaries objected. The property is in the name of my deceased mother, who passed away in 1993.
One of the sibling beneficiary had been operating a business at the front of the estate, alongside the Public Road, while another sibling and I lived at the back. Life was not easy for the two beneficiaries living at the back. We suffered tremendously at the hands of the sibling who occupied the front. He placed derelict vehicles and blocked the driveway; we could not park on the road reserve in front of the estate, nor were we allowed to have visitors. Our homes and vehicles were mysteriously torched on numerous occasions, our dogs were killed, we were physically assaulted many times there, my house was demolished by the sibling and vandals were taken there at night to damage our stuff, just to name a few of the things we went through there. The police took no action; the matter was under investigation or had gone to the DPP.
I had no choice other than to return to the court and make an application for an order for the estate to be sold and the money divided equally among the four beneficiaries after expenses were taken cared of. Hon. Justice Gino Persaud gave a fair and just ruling in late November 2022. In a nutshell, it was clearly specified how the Public Trustee should go about disposing of the estate. The Public Trustee took additional steps to get the occupant who was in possession of the front of the estate evicted. The sibling, who did not want to give up possession of the front of the estate so that the estate could be sold, was forcefully evicted in May 2024. A few days after his eviction, the Public Trustee was about to dispose of the estate in favour of the Nand Persaud Company.
I was fortunate to be in the office of our Lawyer, Mr Parmanand Mohanlal, while he was having a discussion with Prathima Kissoon of the Public Trustee regarding the terms of the Agreement of Sale. I learnt that they were going to use a valuation for the estate that was almost 2 years old, even though the Order of Hon. Justice Gino Persaud stated that the estate must be sold for no less than the current market value. I objected and insisted that the Public Trustee get a 2024 valuation. I also visited the Valuation Office and spoke to the Chief Valuation Officer, Mr. Barrington. Mr. Barrington told me that a valuation certificate is valid for just one year, and the Public Trustee cannot sell our estate using a 2-year-old valuation. He also told me that due to the development trend in the country over the past 2 years, the value of our property has gone up a lot.
I asked Mr. Barrington if I could apply for my own valuation for the property. He told me I could definitely do so, but I must first get a letter prepared by my lawyer, requesting the said valuation. I went and paid my Lawyer and got a letter so I could apply for my own valuation for our estate. I also called the Public Trustee and informed them that we could only proceed with an up-to-date valuation certificate for our estate. The staff at the Public Trustee assured me that Miss Prathima Kissoon had made an application with the Valuation Office for a 2024 valuation.
I was devastated to learn from Mr. Barrington when I went to apply for a valuation of our estate that the Public Trustee had called him and instructed him not to issue a valuation certificate for our estate to me. I was also informed by the Secretary of the Chief Valuation Officer that Miss Prathima Kissoon had written the Valuation Office and requested that the Valuation Office issue a valuation certificate based on a sketch of the Agreement of Sale using a 2022 valuation. Mr. Barrington refused and advised the Public Trustee to make an application for a 2024 Valuation.
After waiting for about a month, I paid the Valuation Office a visit. I was told that a valuation of our estate was sent to the Public Trustee. Like I mentioned earlier, the Valuation Office told me that they were not instructed to disclose the value to me or to issue a valuation certificate to me. I called my Lawyer and asked him if he could call the Public Trustee and ask if the Public Trustee could share the value of our estate with us. He responded via WhatsApp and claimed that Prathima said that she has the valuation for our estate, and because the value is high, the Public Trustee would have to re-advertise the estate. I asked him to tell me what the value of the estate was. He declined. I emailed Prathima and she responded. She claimed that she was waiting for the valuation. Mr. Barrington has been sent on leave, and the Public Trustee is awaiting another valuation from the Acting Chief Valuation Officer. It seems as if they were not happy with Mr. Barrington’s valuation. It does not suit their cronies, their prospective buyer. They will no doubt now try to get a valuation of their likeness. There are many other violations of Hon. Justice Gino Persaud’s order
Sincerely,
Fazal Gafoor
