The 20 BMW vehicles being purchased by government for use during the upcoming Rio Summit and during the Cricket World Cup super eight matches are expected here by next month end. Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon told members of the media at his first briefing yesterday that the vehicles are expected prior to the Rio Summit. He said most of the vehicles will cost government in excess of US$30,000 each.
BMW is one of the official sponsors of CWC 2007, which will be held in Guyana and eight other Caribbean countries during March and April this year. At his last press briefing last year, President Bharrat Jagdeo had said since government was “getting some buses” only 20 vehicles were required and not 40 like some other host venues.
Stabroek News understands that the BMW sponsorship required that every host country buy at least 30 BMW luxury cars. Another condition was that the cars be imported into the country duty-free which means the government stands to lose about $400 million in revenue. Initially, the government had turned the offer down to use cheaper cars after dealers of other automobile manufacturers objected because only one dealer stood to benefit.
Jagdeo had explained that the government did not opt out of the deal but changed the terms. He said the local dealer wanted the government to import the vehicles and waive 75% of the taxes or some $400 million in taxes, which “would have led to a windfall to their dealer here.”
Instead the government opted to buy the vehicles and sell them back on the local market “with the taxes so we would recover the money and much more,” Jagdeo said.
