Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM
GMSA, PSC, GCCI being pressured to support immoral Marriott Hotel – APNU+AFC
Executive Members of the political opposition are of the firm conviction that business organizations such as the
Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine
Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) and the Private Sector Commission (PSC), lack a certain level of independence needed to represent businesses in Guyana as both, among others, are found to be supporting certain investment initiatives regardless of its origin and how it affects other players in a particular industry.
In fact, the silence from those entities on the financial immorality of the Marriott Hotel has also forced them to conclude that the GMSA and the PSC are being pressured to support the hotel.
These comments come in wake of a “sudden” decision by the GMSA to cancel its reservation made with the Pegasus Hotel over a month ago for a business luncheon on April 22 and switch to the recently commissioned Marriot Hotel.
According to the Pegasus owner, Robert Badal, this was done without any notification to his management by GMSA. The manufacturing entity which is chaired by Clinton Williams, later revealed that the reasons for its switch to the new hotel were based on the value of the discounts and rebates it received, availability of its conference room for the duration of the business luncheon, how spacious that room is, and sale of tickets, among other factors.
GMSA’s actions are said to be a worrying factor for what other hotels in Guyana are likely to expect and what the Guyana Marriott Hotel could mean for their sustainability. Members of the coalition A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), voiced this concern to Kaieteur News during an exclusive interview.
Specifically, APNU’s Shadow Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, asserted that given the exorbitant concessions and tax breaks offered to the Hotel, one can only conclude that it is going to force other leading hotels out of business or at least hurt the profits they once enjoyed.
“I think that the Marriott Hotel will place the sustainability of other leading hotels like Pegasus and Princess Hotel out of business, because it was created to be used as a weapon. It was born to take certain people out of business and certain business entities need to come forward and speak out against this.
“The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), the Private Sector Commission, and the Competition Commission should come out and speak out against the unfair level of competition this is creating,” Dr. Roopnaraine asserted.
Executive Member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), Desmond Trotman in agreement with Dr. Roopnaraine, stated that the resounding silence by those business entities is an indication that they are prepared to support the Marriott investment and turn a blind eye to the fact that it represents an abuse of taxpayers’ dollars and the frightening reality that it will stifle other companies in the same line of business.
“The GMSA’s actions are an effort on government’s part to show that it (Marriott Hotel) is accepted by the business community and gives the hotel some amount of credence by having such entities hold its events there. But the opposition can see it is just pressure they are succumbing to,” Trotman articulated.
In further support of his point, his colleague, APNU’s Shadow Minster of Local Government, Ronald Bulkan asserted that the APNU+AFC has plans to level the playing field in the hotel industry, should it assume office.
Bulkan emphasized however, that the problem and its solution really go beyond leveling the playing field in that sector. He said that it entails examining the project from its point of inception, for it was pursued by Former President Bharrat Jagdeo and his cronies without the blessings of the National Assembly and even in the face of stern warnings from the opposition and other concerned taxpayers.
He stressed that those involved in the “corrupt and immoral deal” will be held accountable for their roles in disrespecting the electorate. He said too, that he strongly believes that while the APNU+AFC government would not seek to destroy the Marriott Hotel, “it would be retained, reviewed, cleansed and restructured.”
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