ON April 5 , Joan Daniels , a resident of Ideal Road and of the village, Waiakabra, Soesdyke –Linden Highway passed away after a period of illness.

The woman, who had moved from the North West District with her family, lived more than 30 years of her life on a plot of land at Ideal Road, Waiakabra and for years her offspring have been making attempts to regularise the parcel of land which sits on Lot 92, Ideal Road, Waiakabra, where the family resides.

Their attempts were thwarted on April 17 this year, less than two weeks after Daniels was buried, by a female land administration officer.

On that day, to the surprise of Daniels’ children and members of her extended family, the woman, dressed in ordinary clothing, marched through a section of the land in question along with a group of persons, including a senior female police officer attached to the Kuru Kururu Police Outpost and broke down the fence Daniels’ family had erected along the plot, while discarding a pall which marks the boundary line of the land from an adjoining plot which the woman claims belongs to her.

Several days later, in video footage obtained by the Guyana Chronicle , the woman can be seen verbally abusing the family members with a series of expletives, while neighbours told this newspaper that the woman physically assaulted one of Daniels’ children causing her to seek medical attention.

Reports are that after the land administration official appeared at the family’s home on the first occasion, Daniels’ daughter erected a fence with several roles of chain link mesh on the boundary where the pall once stood. The official, who is a sworn land surveyor, appeared with a team of surveyors from the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission. The senior police officer reportedly ordered that the fence be broken down and while this was happening, the GL&SC official can be heard abusing Daniels’ daughter Ferina Brescino. The woman and her team subsequently carried away the new rolls of mesh.

ASSAULT
Later that day, Brescino , sensing her life being under threat, made her way to the Kuru Kururu Police Station on the opposite side of the highway to make a report. She was told by ranks there that they could not do anything much to assist her, a move which the family said points to collusion between the ranks there and the GL&SC official.

Reports are that as Brescino walked out from the area to catch transportation to go home, the GL&SC land official approached her from behind with a piece wood and dealt her a blow to her lower back.

Brescino in an attempt to defend herself grabbed the piece of wood and the two women scrambled on the roadway. The GL&SC official then allegedly yanked Brescino’s gold chain from her neck and placed it in her pocket. The two scrambled once more and Brescino was able to retrieve her chain. She visited the police station in the area once more but ranks there, including a senior female officer who is said to a be a sergeant, reportedly turned a blind eye to the woman’s plight.

Brescino later visited the Diamond Hospital for treatment. There, the doctor informed her that he was unable to issue a medical certificate, given the environment at the time regarding the COVID-19 epidemic.

POLICE ARREST FAMILY MEMBERS
Reports are that while Brescino was being assaulted by the GL&SC official, a team of police officers attached to the Kuru Kururu Police Outpost visited the extended family’s household near the plot of land in question and arrested three of the woman’s male relatives. The police ranks reportedly told the family that they were arresting the men for destruction of property , even as they pointed out that it was the female GL&SC official who had pulled down the family’s fence while, earlier that day, destroying a bench at a shop the family operate in front of their home.

The woman also performed a ritual by burning items in a bowl and during this time, she instructed the men in her team to erect a wooden and concrete shed on the plot of land she claims belongs to her.

THE ISSUE
The issue pertains to a boundary line which has been established some 100 yards into Lot 90, the plot which the GL&SC official claims belongs to her. The parcels of land are said to be double lots and Daniels’ family lives on Lot 92, which sits next to Lot 90.

Daniels and her extended family have been occupying Lot 92 since the early 1990s and Brescino applied to have the land surveyed as early as July , 2013 on her mother’s behalf. The woman’s mother planted several crops on their plot and has maintained the parcel of land over the years. The crops were among the items destroyed by the GL&SC official.
Brescino has made several trips to the GL&SC office at Hadfield Street, D’Urban Backlands over the years regarding the plot of land in order to ensure the boundary is in the right place. The Guyana Chronicle, during a recent visit to the area, has verified the information provided by the family from receipts and other documents the family produced.

On November 19, 2019, Brescino paid the GL&SC a sum of $90,000 to survey the land, but frequent trips to and from the city have been futile as she awaits a map indicating where the boundary ends.

On January 20, 2020, another of Daniels’ daughters Nalini Rampersaud paid a further $20,000 to the GL&SC to process their application.

The family members noted that they have attempted to seek an audience with GL&SC Commissioner Trevor Benn on the issue, but their efforts have been futile.

The family members believe that the land administration officer and other persons may have been conspiring to remove the family from the land since reports have emerged in the area that the officer in question has been selling house lots to persons in the area for prices ranging between $200,000 and $400,000.

Residents living farther along the highway told the Guyana Chronicle that they were told that the official is securing house lots for sale in the area.

TRANSFERRED FROM ESSEQUIBO

LOT 90 BELONGS TO SOMEONE ELSE

The Guyana Chronicle was also informed by residents along Ideal Road that while the woman is battling Daniels’ children over the plot of land, she possesses no documentation for the parcel of land at Lot 90.

Reports are that the woman resides in the area and was involved in a similar confrontation over the plot of land with the actual owner of Lot 90.
I

t was further reported that a man, one Sherwin Oselmo, had secured a lease for the plot in question but the GL&SC official using her position, was attempting to bully him for the land in question. She also obtained a power of attorney through questionable circumstances and told residents in the area that she was given permission by persons to sell allotted portions of the land.

Daniels’ children are calling on the GL&SC to investigate the matter fully. They noted that since the confrontation with the woman, they believe that after living in the area for more than 30 years they are being bullied off of the land by the official out of pure greed.They noted that the official waited until their mother died to make moves to remove them from the land.

This newspaper attempted to contact Benn on the issue but his phone went to voicemail. However, the Guyana Chronicle understands that the commissioner is aware of the matter.