Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 22, 2012 News
Almost $5B (US$25M) received by government for the sale of its 20 per cent stakes in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) has been placed into the accounts of the Privatization Unit (PU)/National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) but no decisions have been made as yet how it will be spent.
Speaking with reporters yesterday, Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, made it clear that proceeds from privatization deals have to first go to the accounts of those two state-owned companies which are charged with managing Government assets.
NICIL’s Board of Directors, which comprises Government ministers, is to meet shortly to decide on the funds.
The sum has been under the focus of the Alliance For Change (AFC) recently with the party’s leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, saying that he has been informed that Government intended to use it for the construction of the Marriott Hotel in Kingston.
However, Government has denied this with Dr Luncheon yesterday warning that such conclusions would be “premature”.
“To jump from Privatization Unit/NICIL to others (Marriott), in the absence of a specific and deliberate decision…is a bit premature.”
In the face of the impending liberalization of the telecommunication sector to allow new players, Government had decided to sell the shares which had been earning around $500M annually.
However, GT&T’s parent company Atlantic Tele-Network (ATN) had refused to buy them.
The shares were sold to Hong Kong-based Datang Telecom Technology and Industry Group earlier this year for US$30M, with US$25M in cash up front and the rest to be paid over a year.
The Marriott Hotel had come under criticisms because of Government’s failure to name the investors especially in light of the fact that over US$20M was being spent by government to build it.
Construction has already started on the 197-room hotel which will include a casino, nightclub and restaurant.
Local hoteliers had questioned whether it was fair that Government was embarking on a project that will compete directly with them at a time when there was a problem filling rooms.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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