Marriott Hotel controversy…APNU intends to flush out ‘secret’ investor

Apr 28, 2014 News

– Granger

It’s almost seven months since government had promised to make the identity of the US$8M Marriott investor known publicly, and Opposition Leader David Granger says that he intends to have the National Assembly intervene in the hope making the investor known.

Opposition Leader David Granger

Up to Friday last, work was continuing apace at the construction site for the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown but it is unclear where the funding are coming from. Kaieteur News has been continuously calling Chairman of Atlantic Hotels Inc (AHI) Winston Brassington, but to no avail.
Brassington, at the end of last year, had promised an update in the New Year but has since refused to answer any calls made to him from this publication. Back in March 2014, Brassington had answered his mobile phone, but hung up on the reporter who was attempting to question him.
Brassington last year had indicated that there would be financial closure with the Private Investor before the end of the year, but this did not happen.
According to Granger, his party is very concerned with the entire management of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), adding that it was close to becoming a “rogue corporation”.
“It’s outside of the control of the National Assembly, the funds are not fully known and it’s kept secret almost like a parallel government,” Granger told Kaieteur News. He added that he was not at all surprised by Brassington’s actions and failure to account because the entire NICIL is outside the fear of government accountability. Granger posited that the APNU would seek parliament’s intervention and have Finance Minister Ashni Singh cited for not complying.
Opposition parliamentarians remain adamant that it is time that the President of Guyana, Donald Ramotar, instructs public officials as to how to respond to the media when being questioned about pressing national matters.
APNU’s Joseph Harmon had opined that public officials who spend taxpayers’ money should operate in a transparent manner.

Former President Bharrat Jagdeo

“His failure to respond, as he should, is basically Brassington saying that he is not obligated to the public and this is something that the President needs to address quickly. One would expect that this attitude was something of the past, but it needs to be addressed by the hierarchy of the PPP, particularly the President,” Harmon had told Kaieteur News.
Harmon also opined that such behaviour stems from Brassington not being held accountable or subjected to scrutiny.
“Brassington doesn’t have to come to parliament as do Ministers of the government and answer questions about the country’s finance, which in some cases is bigger than the budget. So he probably feels he’s above the fray so to speak,” Harmon opined.
NICIL is investing US$4M and lends the project US$15.5M; Republic Bank Trinidad was asked to syndicate US$27M while a still to be named investor was to invest US$8M.
As a result of this financing structure, the still to be named investor will essentially own and control the Hotel.
President Donald Ramotar, at a recent press conference had given a new financing structure for the hotel. According to the Head of State, “there is a lot of interest in Marriott from local banks that are here; we have local banks involved, we have also foreign banks involved and we do have a foreign investor.”
Pressed on the financial closure that is still to be announced, the President said he was hoping that it should have been announced already, but “there are still some small arrangements left to be made to tie things up…I don’t think you will have to wait much longer.”

NICIL Head Winston Brassington

When asked where the money is coming from to fund the current works ongoing at the Kingston site, Ramotar hsd told reporters, “as I have said there is a consortium of people that have put money into it, so there is money there to continue it, apart from NICIL.”