Permission, Prescriptive Rights, and the Authority of Written Evidence

Dear Editor,

Following the publication of my letter titled “Written Records Provide Verifiable Enduring Evidence” (Stabroek News, Friday, March 14, 2025), I was approached by many people, whose interest was stirred to express their appreciation for the argument. One particularly affirming response came from my daughter in London, United Kingdom, who reiterated that in both public and private life, written evidence remains paramount.

At Queen’s College in the 1950s, I was taught to understand history through the lens of cause and effect – principles reinforced by my history master, H. R. “Bats” Persaud. In the sciences, we were guided by Newtonian principles: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. In New York, United States in the 1990s, when I pointed out to a history teacher of my two daughters that at secondary school I learned history as “cause and effect” he remarked that viewing history through this analytical framework was “a scientific way” of understanding the past. That observation remains with me.

In a recent legal matter in which I am involved, the central contention concerns the alleged granting of verbal permission for residence at a family property. I maintain that verbal assurances are inherently unreliable in disputes over rights and ownership. In law, as in science and history, verifiable and enduring evidence – i.e., written documentation – must form the foundation of any just resolution. I outline below several factual points, supported by documentary or testimonial evidence, which contest the claims of my opponent:

1. Alleged Express Permission: My niece asserts that her mother – my younger sister – granted me “express permission” to occupy a property. There is no written record of this claim. In a court of law, such hearsay cannot stand as verifiable evidence.
2. Occupancy in 2006: It is further claimed that her brother resided in the property in 2006. This is factually incorrect. The property in question had long been uninhabitable – utilities had been disconnected prior to 2000, and the structure had been publicly listed for sale by her father. Furthermore, Guyana was enduring an outbreak of leptospirosis from 2005 to 2006, a public health crisis that would have rendered the property unsafe for occupation. The front colonial structure was condemned by the Mayor and City Council (MCC) after a Demerara window collapsed, injuring a squatter- an incident on public record.
3. Consent from Siblings: My sister, mother of my opponent, never consulted with the sixteen siblings in 2016 about the occupation of a property that I had rendered habitable. The narrative that she granted permission or engaged in broad familial consultation is entirely unsubstantiated.
4. Command of Property: I assumed responsibility for the property upon the death of my brother-in-law, Ronald Payne, in 2001. From that point forward, I maintained and protected it, especially during a legal confrontation with a squatter named Mohan, who attempted to claim prescriptive rights with court marshals who served summons on my sister not to enter the property. I retained Barrister-at-Law Euclid Gomes, who successfully pursued the eviction through the courts.
5. Rates and Taxes: I alone paid the property taxes to the MCC consistently from 2001 through to the present year, 2025. I have documentary proof of these payments, which constitute evidence of exclusive occupation and financial responsibility.
6. Exclusive Possession and Structural Improvements: In 2009, I fully reconstructed the rear building on the property. Construction was undertaken by Steve Hector, who provided a sworn affidavit affirming the nature and scope of the work. My sister, Mrs. Joy Payne, was alive at the time and expressed her satisfaction with the transformation of what had been a diseased, derelict structure into a habitable dwelling.
7. Disposition of the Estate: I am Mr. Payne’s brother in law.  We met as 10 year olds at Queen’s College in my first week.  Our parents knew each from the 1930s. He married my sister. In the years following his 50th birthday, we had frank discussions about his financial decline. He expressed no concern about leaving property to heirs. Indeed, he and his wife were actively engaged in the sale of the Robb Street property through the legal services of Barrister-at-Law Martin Stephenson. Verifiable evidence of his disengagement from the property is available. Ronald Payne had vacated this site and taken up a job as an engineer at the Ministry of Works, Georgetown.  Verifiable evidence exists of his attitude after his 50th birthday.
8. Testamentary Evidence – Dominion School: At 112 Regent Road, Bourda – where the Dominion School is located – the late Joy O’Jon’s will explicitly states that her lifelong sister, Florine Dalgety, is to reside at the family home indefinitely – In her will Joy O’Jon states, “Yourself [Florine Dalgety] (Aunty Joy’s lifelong sister) to remain living in the family home and this would remain so.” My sister currently lives there, per the testamentary instruction. These written words form binding, durable legal evidence. To deny this is false – it is morally reprehensible!

I wish to state clearly: under the Title to Land (Prescription and Limitation) Act, I brought Lot 86A Robb Street, Lacytown back to life. The property had been derelict. I invested resources, time, and intellectual labour into restoring it. It became a sanctuary for my academic and literary work.

From this very property, I authored the following books:

1. Placer Mining and the Guyana Environment, ISBN 978-976-95348-0-3
2. Alternative Materials, Knowledge Management and Wealth (co-authored with Florine Dalgety), ISBN 978-976-95384-3-4
3. PNC Burnham and Beyond
4. Mining Policies in Guyana: Changing the Hinterland
5. Guidelines and Chants of the Rastafari
6. APNU and the Legacy of Forbes Burnham
7. Green Gold
8. Sacred Speeches of Africa
9. Sugar and Rum 1640–1892 in Diaspora Africa

All of these publications were printed by Print Craft Ltd. in Georgetown, Guyana. Each title page bears the Robb Street address, confirming my place of residence and scholarly activity – verifiable enduring evidence. These works have contributed both to my intellectual standing and to my material wellbeing.

This is not merely a matter of ownership. It is a matter of justice. Of cause and effect. Of evidence and law. Of truth and history.

Yours truly,
Tom Dalgety