Latest update August 9th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jun 22, 2020 News
The APNU+AFC de facto government will have to fork out $52M in taxpayer’s dollars to lease the old Ocean View International Hotel, currently being converted into a state-of-the -art hospital for the incubation, isolation and quarantine of persons infected with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Kaieteur News is in receipt of the Lease Agreement between the Receiver of the Establishment, Courtney Perry and the Government of Guyana represented by the Public Health Ministry, spelling out the terms where the total sum of $13M has to be paid on the 1st of every month.
“On the signing of this Lease, the Lessee [Government] shall pay (three) 3 months Lease which is $39,000,000.00 (Thirty-nine million Guyana dollars) plus $13,000,000.00 (thirteen million Guyana dollars) as damage deposit,” the agreement stated.
That means that the Government will produce a $52M deposit just to secure the deal entered into on April 1, 2020. That brings the total to $91M.
Kaieteur News understands that while the agreement has been drafted, it has not been signed nor has the sum been paid.
That figure, is in addition to in excess of US$5 million (G$1B) to “retrofit” or furnish the old Hotel, sitting more than five acres of land at Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara (ECD) with the necessary equipment to transform it into a COVID-19 facility.
It should be noted that the incumbent government under ‘The Acquisition of Lands for Public Purpose Act’ signed an order to take full ownership of the Ocean View Hotel. That order, signed by State Minister Dawn Hastings Williams was signed on April 29.
After head of the COVID-19 Task Force (NCTF), Moses Nagamootoo announced that government would be converting the old Ocean View Hotel into a COVID-19 facility; questions emerged over why that particular building was chosen as opposed to a ready facility, already housing the amenities to tackle the virus.
In recent years, spring tides have been wreaking havoc on the facility from the overtopping.
Due to the hotel’s close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, back in 2013, the facility took a hit after high tides resulted in significant damage amounting to millions. For that reason, the hotel was shut down.
According to the NCTF Head, they acted on a suggestion for a specialty health facility after taking into consideration that the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) projects that by early May, Guyana will be dealing with 20,000 cases of COVID-19.
Due to the pressing nature of the Coronavirus, the Public Health Ministry scrambled to locate facilities and it was for this reason, that the Ocean View Hotel was earmarked.
The Permanent Secretary of the Public Health Ministry told Kaieteur News that the owners of the old hotel responded immediately to their request.
She did not reveal the cost to ‘retrofit’ the building – that figure came days later from Finance Minister Winston Jordon. He revealed that it would cost $1B to equip the facility, with that figure excluding the possible purchase price.
He could not say, however, how the project would be funded and up to press time, this fact is still unknown.
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