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Businesswoman wants “fair” price for property

by Emmanuel Joseph
3 min read
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Embattled businesswoman Asha Mrs Ram Merchandani is willing to return to the bargaining table and meet Government halfway in negotiations over outstanding payment for the compulsory acquisition of the family property on Bay Street, The City.

However, she is not ruling out further legal action if there is no agreement.

Back in March 2019, the Government, through an act of Parliament, served notice on the owners of the land and buildings known as Liquidation Centre, in order to compulsorily acquire them and pave the way for construction of several tourism projects, including the multi-million-dollar Hyatt Ziva Resort.

Since then, the Merchandanis and the Mia Mottley administration have been at loggerheads over how much should be paid for the property. Mrs Ram had also gone to the court to delay demolition of the building, but she was unsuccessful in that attempt.

The prominent businesswoman is now focusing her energies on getting “justice and fairness” from the Government in its acquisition of the property, by going the route of reconciliation.

She assured she was ready and willing to talk.

However, she told Barbados TODAY that more legal action is on the cards unless the Government returns to the negotiation table and comes to a just decision on compensation.

“My option is only to seek justice. The only way you can get justice is through the courts, unless a person is willing to sit down and say ‘look, we are willing to sit down with you, like adults, and we are willing to discuss again with you’. My door is always open. I’m not going to close my doors. I have never said to anybody that I am that hard that I am not prepared to sit down and talk like an adult,” Mrs Ram declared.

She said she only wanted what was fair, and pointed to the minimum price to which she believed she was entitled.

“What is the price of beach land in this country? The beach land price is $275 to $350 per square feet. That’s the price range. I am not saying it. Go and ask the real estate people,” the businesswoman insisted.

Asked if she was willing to accept an offer below that range, Mrs Ram replied: “All I am asking for is fairness and what the law says. The law says market price.”

She added that in the 30 years she operated Liquidation Centre on Bay Street, she would have contributed significantly to the economy and society, and felt that she deserved  fairness.

While the Government now effectively owns the property which includes part of Carlisle Bay beach, the process of compensation has not been completed due to the pay dispute.

Prime Minister Mottley had said her administration was anxious to settle the issue, but would only pay what was reasonable and in the best interest of the public.

Back in May, she said that for many years the property carried a land tax valuation of BDS$4.5 million, which the owners claimed to be too high, and a recent commercial valuation put the value of the property at BDS$8 million. However, Mottley disclosed that the owners had refused the higher price.

“The records will show that over the course of many, many, many meetings over a 16-month period, that we were unable to reach an agreement that was in the interest of the public,” she had said.

Attorney General Dale Marshall at that time had also revealed that while the Government had offered up to BDS$12 million, the Merchandanis had asked for a figure well over BDS$30 million.
(emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb)

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