Dear Editor,
Now that Jagdeo has decided not to sell the Marriott primarily because of low bids, ExxonMobil should purchase it at a premium and turn it into an office property to house all businesses, government entities and not-for-profit related to everything oil and gas. First, the premium would be booked as goodwill, a payment to the Guyanese people for their anxiety over the known unknown. Secondly, housing everything oil including the other oil companies and related businesses is effective and efficient, kind of like OPEC. Moreover, staff of the government entities and not-for-profit organizations would just have to take an elevator for important meetings with the benefits of offsetting carbon greenhouse by not driving or having to park.
The hotel real estate should be sold under a 99 year land lease with the land held in trust. This arrangement would ensure that the real property could be taken over by the government in the event ExxonMobil decided not to perform under the lease agreement or could be assumed by one or more of the major tenants. Monthly lease payments will be waterfall as following: debt service, local taxes, maintenance and capex, and remainder into a national trust. Lastly, the premium is to be amortized over ten years indexed to inflation and F/X. The purchase doesn’t have to be ExxonMobil only but a corporation made up of several entities. I am confident the Intelligence Unit will keep things “honest”. Besides, there are too many hotels going up that offer different ambiance and locale as well as pricing points, then there’s the Pegasus next door.
Sincerely,
Keith Bernard
