| – Guyana asked to reorganise priorities after Marriott requestPull Quote: “…the Chinese would be more open to assist a government with developmental infrastructure such as the airport expansion where, when constructed,Authentic MLB Jerseys, would serve to give them (Chinese) kudos,Nike Schuhe Neu Herren, as against a hotel project going belly-up”- GreenidgeThe 2012 Budget Debates are set to commence immediately after the Easter celebrations and from all indications it will be a fiery period in the National Assembly.The National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) headed by Winston Brassington and the proposed Georgetown Marriott Hotel are expected to hold a spotlight in centre stage during the debates.The Proposed Marriott Hotel is owned by a Special Purpose Company established for its construction, called Atlantic Hotels Inc (AHI) and is also headed by Brassington. Former Finance Minister Carl Greenidge says that there is a motion in his name which is going to seek to force the Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh to bring all sources of revenue to the Consolidated Fund.The other sources of revenue that Greenidge alluded to include those of NICIL and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission among others.A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) will be seeking to have this effected even before the House votes on the Appropriation Bill 2012.Greenidge says that his party will be using the transition period between the Committee of Supply (which scrutinises the estimates of the Budget) and the actual vote,China NFL Hoodies, for its approval in the Full House.The Appropriation Bill is the legislative instrument that gives authority for use of expenditures outlined in the 2012 Estimates by the Finance Minister.APNU will be looking for support from the Alliance for Change (AFC). The two parties, collectively, have a one-vote advantage over the People’s Progressive Party Civic.Greenidge says that at present it is ludicrous for the Minister to be citing projects in the National Budget for which there is no proper accounting entailed. He further charged that with expenditures being funded from sources outside of the budget, the nation’s deficit and inflation rates will be grossly misrepresented.NICIL has not presented an audited report for almost a decade and is set to plug one-third of the US$58M into the proposed Georgetown Marriott.This project is even more worrisome since the Chinese Exim Bank, upon receipt of the proposal for the Georgetown Marriott and the CJIA Expansion Project, had instructed the country to reorganise its priorities.Guyana had submitted for consideration by the Chinese Bank, both the proposed Georgetown Marriott and the expansion proposal for the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.The proposal for the CJIA expansion was re-submitted for support, in the form of a concessionary Chinese loan.The Marriott equity was left to be financed by NICIL and a syndicated consortium of investors to be sourced by Republic Bank.Greenidge, who is an experienced negotiator with International Financial Institutions (IFIs), told this publication that while he could not be certain as to why the Chinese would not want to invest in the Marriott Project, the fact that it is a commercial operation linked to the private sector would be a key determining factor.“The Chinese would be more open to assist a government with developmental infrastructure such as the airport expansion where, when constructed, would serve to give them (Chinese) kudos, as against a hotel project going ‘belly-up’He opined that the lack of feasibility on the project could also be a contributing factor to the Chinese not wanting to take the chance in investing in the project.The Former Finance Minister said that it is very troubling, however, that the country is pushing ahead with the project when there is no clear allocation of any such expenditure in the Budget.Greenidge stressed that because of the large amounts of money being hoarded by NICIL and for which it expends in isolation without any accounting to Parliament,Nike Air Max Damen G��nstig, the Budget Estimates are severely undermined.This, he emphasized, can eventually prove to be a major problem for the government, because the Minister of Finance would have been “misrepresenting the figures as it relates to the nation’s accounts”.“APNU will demand that NICIL be brought to books,” stressed Greenidge.The holding company (NICIL) recently entered into what some have come to term “an incestuous relationship” with the owners of the proposed Georgetown Marriott.The owner of the proposed Georgetown Marriott Hotel is Atlantic Hotels Inc. (AHI), and this company recently inked an agreement with NICIL to lease the seven-acre plot of land for $24,000 per month. This lease is for 99 years and AHI has been given the opportunity by NICIL to purchase the land for US$1MThis is according to the “Agreement to Lease of Land…made and entered into this 28th day of January, 2010” between NICIL and Atlantic Hotels Inc.NICIL is headed by Winston Brassington, but for the purposes of the Agreement which was recently made available after much public furor, the holding company is represented by its Deputy Chief Executive Officer/Company Secretary,Asics Fuzex Rush Homme, Marcia Nadir-Sharma.Nadir-Sharma is also the Company Secretary for AHI,Wholesale Soccer T-shirts, which is also headed by Brassington and for the purposes of the agreement of lease,Jerseys Wholesale, AHI was represented by Brassington.In the agreement for the 6.8 acres of land which is located in the vicinity of the Pegasus Hotel Guyana, and is considered beach front property, Brassington agrees that AHI will purchase the land from NICIL (which Brassington also heads), “anytime after the commencement of the hotel operations or substantial completion of construction, whichever is earlier.” |
