The Government has resorted to selling some the remaining BMWs for a price of $9M each, forgoing significant duties that would have been payable on the luxury vehicles that had been bought for the Cricket World Cup.
According to an advertisement appearing yesterday in the Kaieteur News, but not in this newspaper, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport was offering 12 of the cars for sale “as is, where is” at a price of $9M (around US$45,000) per BMW.
The ad said that the sale would be carried out on a first come, first served basis. It said that interested persons must contact the Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Slowe or Clifford Patoir at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. They are asked to also call Police Headquarters during normal working hours with a view to arranging an inspection of the vehicles.
But the newly re-priced ‘beamers’ are now selling like hot cakes with six of them being snapped up as of yesterday, the second day of the appearance of the advertisement with the price and bidding arrangements.
According to a staffer of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, potential buyers have to visit Police Headquarters, where the vehicles are located, and pick out which one they want from the lot still unsold.
On selecting one of the vehicles, the buyer must take the vehicle information to the relevant person in the Ministry and bring with them a manager’s cheque covering the total amount for the vehicle with an accompanying bid letter.
When this is done, the registration and other relevant documents will be handed over to the new owner.
President Bharrat Jagdeo had said back in December that bidders were coming in with low prices, perhaps hoping that the Government would part with the expensive vehicles. He had mentioned that Government might consider keeping the vehicles. The President had indicated that although his preference was to sell the vehicles, he would have converted them to Government use if the bids were coming in too low.
But in an about face, the Government has now decided to forego most of the duty and sell the vehicles close to the price for which they were purchased. The cars had languished at police headquarters and concerns were raised about exposure to the elements.
The vehicles were first used to facilitate the appropriate level and quality of transportation for the Heads of State and other dignitaries who attended the Rio Summit held here in March this year.
They were next used to transport the Chief Executive Officer and other executives participating in the Guyana leg of the Cricket World Cup 2007 Super Eight matches. Each BMW cost the government US$35,000 or $7M. With the relevant taxes the final market price would have been around double this.
Back in July, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon had said that the tendering process would have been restarted. In the first attempt, none of the bidders had come close to the price government wanted for one of the vehicles, which he had referred to as “double digit millions.”
The government had opted to purchase the cars hoping to be able to recoup the full amount of duties payable in the eventual sale.
