Pegasus Hotel owner Robert Badal has alleged that his business is being discriminated against by the Tourism Ministry and he called on President Donald Ramotar to remove acting minister Irfaan Ali.
Badal made the allegation in a statement issued yesterday, while noting that the hotel was excluded from a delegation to this week’s Caribbean Tourism Organisa-tion (CTO) Caribbean Week in New York.
He added that it had also been excluded from the Sustainable Development Conference, held here in April. He noted that since Ali’s acting appointment, the hotel has not received any communication from the minister, despite being the largest investor and employer in the sector, and paying over $400M in taxes.
“Minister Ali’s action has clearly demonstrated to me that he has failed to bring any kind of leadership to this sector and would therefore inspire no confidence among leading players.
This would impact adversely on investments and growth in the local hospitality industry and economy as a whole,” he said, while calling for Ali’s removal.
Badal noted that Ali must be reminded that he had a duty to all players in the local industry to represent their interest without any discrimination. “Any favour to one player, and discrimination against another, is an abuse of his office for which severe sanctions must be imposed,” he said, while charging that such abuse began under the tenure of former President Bharrat Jagdeo, who left office last year.
According to Badal, Jagdeo was openly promoting the business of the Princess Hotel, with the casino gambling legislation passed under his administration in order to make the Princess’s precursor—Buddy’s Hotel—attractive to the eventual buyer.
He also said that the Princess Hotel pays no corporate taxes under a tax holiday arrangement.
Badal added that it seemed as if Jagdeo’s favouritism was being sustained, despite his hopes that with the election of President Ramotar, there would have been “a level playing field” for all.
As a result, he called on the Private Sector Commission and other private sector bodies as well as the parliamentary opposition to condemn the abuses. “Under no circumstances would I tolerate any form of discrimination against myself in my own country,” he said.
