Nine months later…Red tape preventing crippled prison officer from occupying new house

Aug 31, 2014 News

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By Dale Andrews

When Roxanne Winfield received the keys to her spanking new home last December she had dreams of spending Christmas in a much more comfortable environment than the one she was enduring from the time she was shot in her head and left for dead in 2002.
But from the look of things another Christmas might come and Winfield, the former prison officer who was crippled for life when five dangerous criminals broke out of the Camp Street Jail, might have to remain in the cramped dwelling she is currently sharing in Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara with her sister Jacklyn Gonsalves and her family.
This state of affairs is a result of the bureaucratic posture adopted by the local utility companies, and what can be described as the uncaring attitude of persons in authority within the Guyana Prison Service.
Winfield lost her speech and her ability to move around unaided as a result of the head injuries she sustained when a shot from a shotgun tore through her head on Mashramani Day 2002.
After winning the battle for her life, she has been confined to a wheelchair and her relatives, especially her sister Jackie, have since been trying their best to care for her in her current state, sometimes having to fetch her up and down the stairs whenever she has an engagement outside of the house.
Through countless articles in the Kaieteur News, most of Guyana was aware of her plight and the hardships her family was going through to make life a bit easier for her.
Many, including her former colleagues in the Guyana Prison Service, and other non -governmental organizations came up with ways to assist the local heroine. One such organization is the Rotary Club of Stabroek which responded to one of the articles, in which an appeal for a wheel chair was made.
And it was during the visit to deliver the wheelchair to Winfield that members of the Club became captivated by her positive outlook on life and the inner strength she displayed despite everything that she has endured.
They saw that she was living in a cramped two bedroom house with her sister and her family and they immediately decided that she needed  a ‘disability friendly’ home, which would enhance her mobility.
This was in February 2012.
Habitat for Humanity was contacted and with monetary assistance though President Donald Ramotar, the project to build a special home for Winfield was underway.

Labour was provided by prisoners from the Lusignan Prison through the instrumentality of former Director Dale Erskine.
Using a piece of land at Nabaclis on the East Coast of Demerara that was left by her deceased father Compton Morris Collins, the project commenced.
Several months later, on December 14 2013 to be precise,  Winfield was presented with the keys to her new home in which she could spend the rest of her life with her two children Jamal and Anikie.
But that is when the reality of trying to get things done hit home to her relatives.
This newspaper understands that the Guyana Prison Service had undertaken to facilitate the supply of water and electricity to the house but to date this has not become a reality.
“We were waiting on the certificate for the wiring of the house from the prison and as soon as we got that we went to GPL,” her sister Jackie told Kaietuer News.
As if the wait for the certificate was not frustrating enough, Jackie got the shock of her life when the power company called her about the application for the supply of electricity to the injured prison officer’s house.
“GPL called and some of them came to my house to investigate. They asked me about my meter and then they told me that if I owe them, it might affect Roxanne getting her light,” the injured prison officer’s sister told this newspaper.
“She can’t live in a house with no water and electricity,” Jackie declared.
Winfield’s son Jamal Collins took up the task of getting things in order and he too is being held up by the red tape.
He said that he approached the power company last month and was told that there was an outstanding balance listed for the address on which his mother’s house is built.
“They tell me that there is an outstanding balance of $51,000 and they have to investigate. My mother never lived at that address. My grandfather was living there and when he died seven years ago, they broke down the house and built my mother’s house,” Collins related.
He then had to contend with the Guyana Water Incorporated to secure potable water to the house, and again he encountered barriers.
“They (GWI) told me the name of another person who they said was registered to the place and that the water bill was never paid. I really don’t know what is happening,” Collins said.
Another relative who asked to remain anonymous since she is employed by the state, made reference to the treatment Winfield is getting compared with a former senior government official.
“Imagine this woman almost lost her life to save Guyana from criminals and this is the treatment she is getting. It’s not that she wants to get light and water free; we will pay for it. Other people like Jagdeo getting light and water free. We are not begging a favour. All we are asking is for them to do what they are being paid to do and give Roxanne what she deserves,” the relative stated.
Meanwhile, her son was not very complementary towards the current administration of the Guyana Prison Service.
“The new Director is nothing like Mr. Erskine. I went to him to obtain a letter to take to GPL and he tell me that I got to help myself. I was surprised because it was the first time I ever went to him for any help for Roxanne,” Jamal Collins said.
In the meantime Roxanne Winfield remains in the cramped two bedroom house on stilts while grass and vines have taken over her new home in Nabaclis.
“She is anxious to move into her new house. She keeps asking about it every day,” Jacklyn Gonselves said.

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