Dear Editor,
Permit me to respond to a letter that appeared in the state-owned Guyana Chronicle. The letter, ‘Marriott’s coming could help address quality of service, entertainment’ (August 8), succinctly written by a Ms Joycelyn Williams who identified herself as a project consultant, basically set out to put, on a point by point basis, the value of a new name brand hotel in boosting Guyana’s sagging tourism and entertainment industries. Her letter, contrary to the thinking of that tabloid’s editor, did not explicitly support the government’s ill-conceived motive for funding the project.
In fact, Ms William’s fifth point distinctly made clear her neutrality: “Whether the government should provide assistance – subsidy to a foreign company is another matter,” and while she chose to studiously avoid addressing it, it is the same point that several Guyanese have been taking issue with the government over for its lack of transparency in funding, naming of private partners and the President’s own intemperate outburst at the owner of Guyana’s most popular hotel. This outburst made the President appear as though he is backing the Marriott venture just to get at the owner of the Pegasus. It’s like Goliath getting ready to take on David.
Contrary to what we have been led to believe so far about this hotel venture being a public-private partnership, the Marriott project is actually a brainchild of the Guyana Government, which is headed by President Bharrat Jagdeo. I challenge any Guyanese, at home and abroad, who doubts this to Google ‘Marriott,’ and the first item at the top of the finds will grant you access to information on this project. This is what the Marriott website says in part about the project: “It will operate under a management agreement with Atlantic Hotel Inc (AHI). AHI is currently owned by the Government of Guyana (GoG) as part of a public-private partnership between the Government of Guyana and private sector investors.”
There you have it, Editor and fellow Guyanese. The Marriott will operate under a management agreement with AHI, a government-owned company that came on stream last September, but while we know the government is involved, we have no idea who the private partners are. There are no private sector names. Also, the government is reportedly putting up US$20M of public funds for this venture, but we have not been shown a breakdown of how this figure was determined nor have we been told how much the private investors will be putting up.
Is this any way to run a public-private partnership involving public funds? No! Usually, when there are ceremonial launchings of public-private partnerships, representatives of both sides arrange for photo-ops and joint press releases or a joint press conference to make remarks and field questions from the media. But what we are witnessing is part of the political culture being nurtured by this administration that has no respect for the people or the media, and so the people are left to depend on the media for information that the government will not divulge, which then makes the government angry.
Before advancing, let me repeat for clarity that Mr Robert Badal, owner of the Pegasus, is on record stating he has no problem with the Marriott being built, and so do I and many others. What we have a problem with is motive and lack of transparency in the government’s role in this project, especially after it gave $168M to Buddy’s to finish his hotel in 2007, only to watch Buddy’s sell his hotel about a year later when it was not doing good business. Did the government miss the point of Buddy’s sale, or was the decision to sell part of the original investment plan?
I also want to offer, on behalf of Guyanese at home and abroad, a huge ‘thank you’ to Mr Badal for having the guts to stand up in the free media to the President’s hot-headed tirades that sought to do irreparable damage to the reputation of the Pegasus Hotel. I believe Mr Badal did set out to disprove that might is right, and by speaking out and up, he inspired many Guyanese who had started feeling powerless against the President’s penchant for cussing out, putting down and intimidating those who oppose him. Guyanese must learn how to challenge the President without necessarily disrespecting the office.
I close by urging Guyanese to pay attention to the newspaper accounts of projects involving this government and taxpayers’ monies, because not only are many of these projects the government uses as signs of progress really subjected to review for their costs and quality workmanship, but some of them may well be avenues for enriching already wealthy Guyanese. It is as though Guyana is in open season for greedy business persons, and on any given day, there is at least one dozen, known for their close relationship with the government looking to fatten their bank accounts via some of these projects.
And because some of these are very suspicious projects and deals in the pipeline, I doubt whether this government can afford to demit office without ensuring its successor does not revisit with a view to investigating and rescinding the deals. I am talking about hundreds of billions of taxpayer’s dollars being shuffled around in these projects, and that’s one reason why some see the third term discussion being elevated to such a high level or why shared governance with the PNC Leader is being pushed to the centre of public debate. If ever there’s a new government in 2011 and it goes for a review of these projects and deals, we could be watching the house of cards collapse like a rickety outhouse under a tornado.
Yours faithfully,
Emile Mervin
