2nd Marriott in Guyana
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has called out the David Granger-led Government for its “hypocrisy” as well as lack of transparency surrounding a deal undertaken to construct a new Marriott Hotel in Guyana.
While the APNU/AFC were in opposition, they had heavily criticised the PPP Administration for pioneering the current Marriott hotel; however, on Wednesday, it was announced that the caretaker APNU/AFC Administration made a secret move with the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL) to facilitate the construction of another hotel under the same brand.
On Thursday, Jagdeo addressed the matter at his weekly press conference, stating that while investors are welcomed in Guyana, the secrecy of the arrangement was surprising.
He pointed out that there are many aspects of the deal which have not been revealed.
Calling the deal, a “campaign strategy” and an elections gimmick by the coalition Govt, the Opposition Leader stated that it is uncertain whether permission was given from Marriott to use the name – a company which manages a string of hotels worldwide. This was confirmed by the investor later on Thursday who admitted that there is no franchise agreement in place.
“We welcome investment in new hotels and we welcome investors to Guyana but what was surprising about this is the secrecy through which the whole arrangement or deal was struck. And so we sought to get some answers about what the land deal was all about, how many land deals were given to the investor and what price; not just for the hotel but for the surrounding areas,” the Opposition Leader informed.
He added, “From what I gather too, no environmental permit has been issued so the Government talked about this project starting next month is designed for campaign purposes because there is no environmental permit as yet. We’ve also sought to find out if Marriott has officially approved this because it’s a laborious process that we had to go through to get Marriott to agree to use their brand in Guyana”.
Moreover, Jagdeo reminded that when the PPP/C Administration had embarked on constructing the current Marriott Hotel, it faced intense levels of scrutiny from the public as well as heavy criticism from the then APNU/AFC Opposition. In fact, the applicants were even taken to court to have the construction of the hotel blocked. The APNU/AFC held several protests in front the Marriott and on the day of its opening its members including some who are now ministers turned up in front of the five-star hotel and confronted Police who attempted to calm the situation.
