Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
May 18, 2014 News
The Marriott Hotel completion date is nearing and Government is still to disclose who the $US 8M investor is, a move which A Partnership for National Unity member Joseph Harmon said exemplifies an enormous amount of disrespect.
According to Harmon, the recent lighting up of the “Marriott” brand sign shows Government’s contemptuous attitude towards the populace. He told Kaieteur News that the joint Opposition has been continuously speaking on the issue, but the Administration has no respect.
“The non-disclosure of the investor makes you wonder if the persons are involved in money laundering.” Harmon told Kaieteur News.
It’s almost eight months since Government had promised to make the identity of the US$8M Marriott investor known publicly. Last Month Opposition Leader David Granger told Kaieteur News that he intended to have the National Assembly intervene in the hope of making the investor known.
Work has been progressing rapidly on the hotel since according to sources, contractors are trying feverishly to meet the July deadline. It is unclear where the funding for the hotel is coming from. Kaieteur News has been continuously calling Chairman of Atlantic Hotels Inc (AHI) Winston Brassington to no avail.
Brassington, at the end of last year, had promised an update in the New Year but has since refused to answer any calls from this publication. Back in March 2014, Brassington had answered his mobile phone, but hung up on the reporter who was attempting to question him.
Brassington last year had indicated that there would be financial closure with the Private Investor before the end of the year, but this did not happen.
According to Granger, his Party is very concerned with the entire management of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), adding that it was close to becoming a “rogue corporation”.
Opposition parliamentarians remain adamant that it is time that the President of Guyana, Donald Ramotar, instruct public officials as to how to respond to the media when being questioned about pressing national matters.
APNU’s Joseph Harmon had opined that public officials who spend taxpayers’ money should operate in a transparent manner.
“His failure to respond, as he should, is basically Brassington saying that he is not obligated to the public and this is something that the President needs to address quickly. One would expect that this attitude was something of the past, but it needs to be addressed by the hierarchy of the PPP, particularly the President,” Harmon had told Kaieteur News.
NICIL is investing US$4M and lends the project US$15.5M; Republic Bank Trinidad was asked to syndicate US$27M while a still to be named investor was to invest US$8M.
As a result of this financing structure, the still to be named investor will essentially own and control the Hotel.
President Donald Ramotar, at a press conference in February, had given a new financing structure for the hotel. According to the Head of State, “there is a lot of interest in Marriott from local banks that are here; we have local banks involved, we have also foreign banks involved and we do have a foreign investor.”
Pressed on the financial closure that is still to be announced, the President said he was hoping that it should have been announced already, but “there are still some small arrangements left to be made to tie things up…I don’t think you will have to wait much longer.”
When asked where the money is coming from to fund the current works ongoing at the Kingston site, Ramotar told reporters, “As I have said there is a consortium of people that have put money into it, so there is money there to continue it, apart from NICIL.”
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