Brassington’s only crime was working hard – President Ramotar

Apr 18, 2015 News

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…but opposition says President’s idea of hard work is “warped”

By Desilon Daniels
It was a night of glitz, glamour and wine as Guyana’s top brass turned out at the

newly opened Marriott Hotel on Thursday evening to celebrate the hotel’s grand reception.
It was also a big night for Executive Director of National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington who was lauded throughout the evening for the “integral role” he played in the controversial hotel’s opening.
Though the official opening earlier that day had been marred by protest action by irate Guyanese who believed the hotel was a clear sign of disrespect, the evening was all smiles as hundreds of invited guests turned out to spend the night touring the various levels of the taxpayer-funded hotel.
Not a single member of the Opposition was there though they had been invited to celebrate.
Those in attendance were privy to a variety of expensive dishes; they greeted each other in different languages including Spanish, Chinese and Japanese. All the while, mostly

Guyanese waiters and waitresses slinked through the crowd, smiles plastered on their heavily made-up faces as they proffered drinks and food to guests.
The mingling was briefly interrupted by remarks from Brenda Durham, Senior Vice President and Regional General Counsel for Marriott International and President Donald Ramotar.
In both remarks, Brassington was hailed for the part he played in the success of the hotel. This role was the injection of millions of US dollars of taxpayer money from the government-controlled NICIL. The remarks came after a long-winded introduction from Communications Specialist, Kit Nascimento who also praised Brassington as he introduced the man.
“I think that with respect to the opening of this magnificent hotel, there is no one in this room who deserves greater recognition, greater respect and greater praise than Winston Brassington,” Nascimento said to hearty applause from Guyana’s senior representatives.
The hearty cheers for Brassington did not go unnoticed by the international delegation and, when it was her time to take the stand, Durham said, “I suspect that he [Brassington] must

have somewhat of an infamous reputation.”
Smiling, she continued, “But from our standpoint and from the time I had with him and getting to know him, he’s really a true visionary and I’d like to thank him for helping to implement what the government of Guyana had for the vision of this hotel.”
However, Brassington’s biggest fan was clearly President Ramotar who asserted that the NICIL Head was “exemplary”.
“Let me join with those who spoke before in acknowledging the role of Winston Brassington, an exemplary public servant whose only crime was working hard. No other public servant has deserved this more than Winston Brassington,” Ramotar bellowed into the microphone. He went on, “Based on the facility and the full compliance of Marriott with applicable tax laws, AHI [Atlantic Hotel Inc.] is poised to be the largest taxpayer in the hotel and hospitality sector in our country.”
AHI is the special purpose company established to own and manage the Guyana Marriott Hotel.
All the while, Brassington, who is also the Chairman of AHI, stood to the side of the erected

stage, simply blushing as the accolades and cheers rolled in. Though he was clearly the man of the night, Brassington did not address the assembly.
Opposition Member Joseph Harmon has opined that Brassington’s connection with the Marriott Hotel is far from exemplary.
“The fact that he [President Ramotar] would associate working hard with a crime says that he knows something that we don’t know,” Harmon said.  “As far as I know, Mr. Brassington spent money from the taxpayers’ pocket…Mr. Ramotar has a warped sense of what exemplary is. You cannot say a man is exemplary when he’s lying to the public saying there are investors when there are none; when he’s saying tests have been done before they are…how can you call that exemplary? As far as the Guyanese public is concerned, it’s not exemplary but contemptuous.”
President Ramotar also gave special thanks to his predecessor, President Bharrat Jagdeo, who was noticeably absent from the event, and the Chinese constructing company, Shanghai Construction Group.
He also expressed hope that the construction company, which he said was “coming under attack”, would be able to use the Guyana Marriott Hotel as a testimony to its work to secure other jobs in Guyana and internationally.
The President also spent quite a substantial amount of his time bashing the opposition for “stymieing” the Marriott project and other government plans such as the Amaila Hydropower Project.
“Making this project happen has been a challenge; it had to overcome considerable odds but today, despite all of these attacks and slander by people specialized in negativity, it has become a reality,” Ramotar said.
He also rehashed activities of his government that were deemed successful and other projects currently underway, including offshore oil explorations.
However, the guests quickly became restless as President Ramotar droned on, and the chatter steadily grew as the guests chatted and sipped their drinks.
Eventually the night wore on and the mingling continued for a few more hours. The night finally wrapped up and many of the distinguished guests, impressed and giddy from a night of elegance, left the Marriott Hotel, the police officers outside wishing them a pleasant evening as they drove off in their expensive rides.

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