Fazil Ramzan — the story of the man and his doings.

Source - Kaieteur News

Fazil Ramzan

As a newspaper known for its reliability and fearlessness, Kaieteur News has always striven for high standards. A few months ago, there was a story on Fazil Ramzan, the developer, and our available information at that time came from one type of source and one side of the equation which turned out to be anti-Ramzan.

Now, we are correcting that by carrying the other side by speaking with Ramzan himself and other knowledgeable persons.

Who is Mr. Ramzan? Ramzan is a qualified electrical engineer who did studies both at UG and Waterloo University in Canada. Before he emigrated, he worked at Banks DIH and GPL. In Canada, he worked and practised as an electrical engineer and developer over many years. Then came 1992 and Dr. Jagan’s return to power. He answered Dr. Jagan’s call to Guyanese to return home and help rebuild their country. His extended family who had also done very well in Canada did their best to prevent him from returning, but the call of Guyana was irrepressible and he returned.

He wished to use one of the expert skills he had acquired in Canada and decided to become a housing developer. He made arrangements to purchase two estates on East Bank Demerara to begin his development activity. He began with Sarah Johanna where he intended to build houses to meet the pockets of ordinary folk.

As is normal in housing developments everywhere, those wishing to purchase houses enter into a contract and pay a deposit. Forty persons duly contracted and paid deposits which ranged from $100,000 to two million dollars.

In all, a total of $35 million was deposited and this, together with personal funds several times the quantum of the deposits, were sunk into the project in preparatory and infrastructural work.

Lawyers, land surveyors, designer, and around-the-clock security had to be paid. Heavy equipment including excavator, bobcat, bulldozers, cement mixers, ground leveler, generator and lorry had to be bought as well as smaller tools and equipment. Land was cleared, drained, lots measured out and a road built. Six houses were the first done.

Then came the dark reality which often plagues so many Guyanese projects.

Losses from theft grew; legal and administrative delays became legend; workers slacked and squatters who had occupied a small part of the land and who had been left alone by Ramzan began to try to sabotage the project.

As important, several of the persons who had made deposits had also been applying for lots the Government was distributing, concealing from the Ministry that they already had landed property. As soon as they were allotted lots, they broke their contracts and demanded their deposits.

All the deposits and Ramzan’s other monies had been sunk in the project and though he had great value in land, equipment and other assets, he did not have ready money. In other words, he did not have liquidity, as business people would say. He therefore could not refund the deposits with the immediacy the depositors were demanding.

Ramzan’s business associates advised him to resist in the courts those who had illegally broken their contracts, to inform the Ministry of those who had been granted house-lots on basis of false information, and to invoke the penalty clause in the contracts which allowed the forfeiture of a good percentage of the deposits on breaking the contracts.

Ramzan, however, did none of those things to defend his interests but insisted that he would refund everyone in full and always accepted full liability. He took this position because he realised his present difficulties were temporary and that he has to continue to do his business way into the future.

Several of the refundees, especially those who had obtained Government lots, went to the police with statements that Ramzan had taken money from them wrongfully. The police instituted charges of false pretence against Ramzan but when the Magistrate reviewed the facts and saw the contracts, she dismissed the charges.

A few others brought actions in the bail court and though Ramzan could have defended himself in contract, he consented to judgements since it was his desire and determination to pay back all refunds in full.

The paying back has been much slower than Ramzan would have wished since to sell assets such as land or big machines is a slow process. Yet, he has been able to refund some completely and has been making payments to others.

Most refundees now understand that they would be paid back completely but they are of course dissatisfied with the time it is taking to pay back. To date, the total amount of refunds he still owes is $18 million to be paid to 25 persons.

Ramzan says that his finances are beginning to improve and he expects to complete all refunds within three to six months.

You should have posted the second article which was actually the earlier one first DG, you confuse the ole hippy.

Umana Developments housing scam….Swindler goes missing, yet to pay compensation – victims

Source - Kaieteur News

Victims who were swindled of millions of dollars by purported housing developer Fazil Ramzan, of Umana Development who was accused of fraud and had promise restitution has disappeared, according to several of the victims.

Fazil Ramzan had been freed of several charges of taking ‘clients’ money and promising them homes but never delivering on the deal. Many of those victims Ramzan had promise to repay if they had withdrawn the charges. To date those who have withdrawn the charges have not been compensated.

Many irate victims of the swindle visited the Brickdam Police Station earlier this year to give written statements against the accused fraudster who claimed that he was developing a housing scheme at Sarah Johanna, East Bank Demerara.

Victims claimed that Ramzan received payments from local and overseas-based Guyanese towards various housing projects. However, at the same time the developer was engaged in a court battle over the lands intended for the project—lands that he had lost last year.

Umpteen reports have been made against Ramzan and victims are appealing to the police to find the man and reinstitute charges against him.

Investigations further revealed that Fazil Ramzan, in 2009, promised to build 2,600 state-of-the-art homes at Friendship Mews, and at Sarah Johanna Gardens. And the gated community that was to be set up on the East Bank Demerara was slated for completion in three years’ time from the projected start of the project. The deadline would have been 2012.

It was also disclosed that Fazil Ramzan, as the Chief Executive Officer of Umana Developments Company, and was supposed to build 100 acres of land to accommodate 600 homes, while the Friendship community would sit on 200 acres of land and will have 2,000 homes.

At that time the cheapest house was touted to cost $4.6 million while the cheapest house at Friendship would cost $9 million; the prices were already inclusive of VAT.

Fazil Ramzan claims to be a well-qualified engineer and a person with vast experience in Finance and Administration, both in North America and in Guyana.

Quite interesting, Cainsta.

Oh rant, you confused me again, this article even older.

I hope you doan have one from 1920.

Readers should be warned to start from the last article on this thread.

Demerara Guy like you have some dispute or grudge going with Ramzan?  He was into construction in Canada on Indian reservations in the North.  I did not know he was back in Guyana. Why would a man give up such a successfull and lucrative construction career to go back there.

He is back in Guyana for close to 20 years now.

I simply post news articles and comments.

Just the news, meh freno Cainsta .. just news.

I know for a fact that Dr Jagan met with Ramzan in Canada shortly before he died. Where you at the meeting Demerara Guy?  Why did Ramzan chose to go back to Guyana we all know how that place operates.  

Your choice to find out the details and reasons.

I hope this is the case and that you are not trying to get back at the man because Dr Jagan chose to meet him and not you.

Since 1958, I have always had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Cheddi Jagan in private and public meetings.

I know your connection to the PPP leadership because of your family member. But you were not there at the private meeting that Dr Jagan had that night with select Guyanese in his hotel room. You had to have know about the meeting.  I am not going to say anything more on this matter.  So I hope this did not piss you off because you were not invited and Ramzan was. 

Your postings on this and other threads demonstrate clearly that you are constantly simply "fishing" for information.

I am not going to follow you up with an answer.

 So Prash, were  you  one  of  those  selected few at  that  meeting with  Dr.Jagan?

All I will say is that Demerara Guy was not there. I don't know if he did not get invite or that he did not show up because he was pissed because he think only he should get invite.

Prashad reminds me of them jealous, cunning old timers. Dangerous type of people.

Prash,

The  reason  i  ask is because  I  was there courtesy of  Mr. Ramzan, who in  fact was  the principal organizer of  that event  in  Edmonton. What  subsequently happened  to  Fazil  Ramzan after  he  answered Dr.Jagan's call  for Guyanese  to   re-migrate and  participate  in the  rebuilding  process is beyond my  personal knowledge. However as  someone who  has also  whole heartedly responded to  Dr  Jagan's  appeal &  invitation,  I  can  emphatically say  that  the  people back home including  senior  ministers and bureaucracy did  absolutely  nothing  to  encourage  or  facilitate what  Dr  Jagan  was  pedaling to  expat. On  the  contrary,  they  went  out  of  their  way to  stymy  and  sabotage  the process and  it  only  get  worse  after  the  good  doctor's demise.  in  retrospect,  it  may  very  well have been a  blessing  in  disguise.         

It is truely sad to see Mr.Ramzan in this situation.  He helped many Guyanese in Canada and America.

the man can do has he like the ppp crime family already collect they cut to look the other way

who will try the devil in hell

Typical Guyanese they only know for laugh and kick their felow Guyanese when they down.

Nehru, I have too much respect for Amral and this board so I am not going to respond to your negative comments about me by cursing you down.  I would like to point out to you that I was not one of those people who despise , hate, jealous and was out to destroy Ramzan because Dr Cheddi liked him. 

Wally, not only did Ramzan help Guyanese.  South Asian Canadians got help from Ramzan over the years. In fact I know personally that Ramzan gave advice to help select the area that a very successful India Indian Alberta politician first ran in and got elected.  This is because he felt the area was left leaning and gave the candidate the best opportunity to be elected.  This was at a time when no colored person was  ever elected in that province. Now you will see how many people that got help from Ramzan is going to run from him like the plague.

I have much respect for the bossman but I does still cuss up Nehru good and proper, he does like it.

he hear big thiefing going on in the government and want some of the action