Former Guyana National Co-operative Bank building is privately owned

Dear Editor,

My company, Ramroop’s Investments Inc, is the owner of the property, via transport, located at Lots 1 & 2 Lombard & Cornhill Streets that formerly housed the Head Office of the now defunct Guyana National Cooperative Bank. This property was acquired from Republic Bank Limited in the year 2006. I have observed the regular, if not weekly, clamouring by your columnist Mr Allan Fenty in his column ‘Frankly Speaking’, for government to demolish and convert this property into a “Vendors Mall”. I would like to think and hope that Mr Fenty is ignorant of the fact that this property is transported private property. The flawed calls in his article certainly give false hope and high unrealistic expectations to vendors.

While I certainly am not authorised neither do I profess to speak for or on behalf of government, I am convinced that by calling on the government to convert private property into state property, whether knowingly or unknowingly, which is what is essentially propagated, certainly sends the wrong signal to property owners and investors, especially at a time when mischief-makers and rumourmongers are very active. In addition, persons ignorant of the fact that the said property is privately owned, may view the government as uncaring for failing to heed his heroic calls.

I firmly believe that it would have been prudent for Mr Fenty to establish who the owner/s of this property is prior to making such calls. I am sure you will agree that it is an accepted tenet of professional journalism to enquire, establish and verify prior to printing. As far as I know, Stabroek News has built its enviable reputation on accurate, fair and balanced reporting. I