Latest update February 20th, 2025 6:53 AM
Marriott Hotel protest… Govt. statement is nothing but nasty politics
– protesters
Protesters yesterday dismissed claims by Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira, who, during a press conference by the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on Monday, said that the protest against the Marriott Hotel “stinks of racism.”
The picketers said that they are shocked at what the government is trying to tell the people of Guyana, “For a million times, this protest is not anti-Chinese, it is Guyanese fighting for their rights,” the protesters claimed.
The ongoing protest which was held in front of the Marriott Hotel construction site, Kingston was yesterday moved to the Office of the President. The protesters vowed that other locations will be visited to express their displeasure.
During yesterday’s exercise, protesters were highly annoyed with the government’s position and claimed that if there will be talk about racism, then the ruling party is guilty of racism because “they are the ones who signed the contract to allow only Chinese to work on one of the country’s multi-million-dollar projects.”
“I have a family and I am unemployed and to get a job in my own country is difficult and here we have only Chinese working on the Marriott and no Guyanese,” one protester, Leonard Craig, noted.
Some of the protesters yesterday outside the Office of the President
Shanghai Construction Group (SCG) was awarded the contract to construct the Marriott Hotel. The claim by the Government is that it got a reduction in the bid price from the construction company under the condition that SCG would have control over whom it hires.
Guyanese however are upset that their Government allowed the Chinese to “call the shots” even though there is a shortage of jobs in the country.
During Monday’s press conference by the ruling party, the government had sought to justify the importation of Chinese workers to build the Marriott Hotel, saying that enough skilled workers were not available here and that the Chinese labour was thought more suited to complete the project in the time the Chinese contractor wants.
“Are these people listening to what they are saying? They claimed that enough skilled workers were not available here and we have Guyanese going abroad and building hotels and not one Guyanese was given a job… not even to fetch blocks, or unless you need skilled people to fetch the blocks,” one of the demonstrators stated.
Social Activist Frederick Kissoon said “we decided to re-strategize, we took a decision today (yesterday) that we do not want to be involved in any activity that will give the people of Guyana, the people of Caricom and the world any impression that Guyanese do not want foreigners to come and work here, so we are shifting the focus now, and are targeting government ministries, because the Chinese did not come here by themselves, the government of Guyana offered them a sweet deal and they took it.”
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