– says local contractors, workers benefit directly or indirectly
Scores of Guyanese are benefiting directly and indirectly from the construction works ongoing at the site where the multimillion-dollar Marriott Hotel is being built in Kingston, Georgetown, Atlantic Hotels Inc Chief Executive Officer Winston Brassington said on Wednesday.
Guyanese counterparts after a brief tour of the construction site
This disclosure comes on the heels of a plethora of media reports which suggested that a Chinese-only workforce is being used to construct the hotel without any input from locals or contribution from Guyanese construction companies.
“Absolutely not true, there are many service providers and sub-contractors that are benefiting significantly from this job,” Brassington said, explaining that scores of Guyanese workers were engaged directly and indirectly at different stages of the construction of the hotel which requires a pool of specific technical and non-technical skills.
Contract details were released publicly
He did not shy away from admitting that the contractor, Shanghai Construction Company which is based in Trinidad and Tobago, was utilising a large amount of Chinese labour to undertake certain aspects of the project which he said was ‘no secret’ or clandestine arrangement as it is contained in the contract negotiated.
Brassington said this information was made public upon the request of the Alliance for Change parliamentarian and leader Khemraj Ramjattan back in March 2012. “One is left to ask whether the AFC hadn’t ample time to observe what was an explicit clause in the agreement … given their political interest in the matter or did they fail to peruse the documents judiciously,” Brassington said.
He noted that failure to deliver the project on time would have resulted in the contractor paying for liquidated damages even though government was seeking to get a reduction of the cost of the overall project, which was one of its biggest ventures.
As a result and with the emphasis on the provision of quality and the expertise needed given the timeline of the project, the Shanghai company opted to utilise its own highly- skilled and trained personnel to undertake various aspects of the project in collaboration with the Guyanese skills pool.
“They did indicate that they would have been bringing a number of Chinese employees. That being said and I need to make it clear that there are many subcontractors that are employed by the contractor, be it security services or provision of cement…,” Brassington maintained.
He disclosed that scores of Guyanese contractors and labourers have been providing lumber, stones, raw materials, services, equipment, and logistical services to the Marriott Hotel project during the construction phase.
“We encouraged the Chinese to utilise more local content, but we recognise that there would be a significant level of Chinese workers, because they wanted to ensure that they could deliver the project on time and build to specification,” he noted.
No clandestine arrangements
The Atlantic Hotels Incorporated chief dispelled rumours that there was some secret arrangement afoot, along with a breach of the country’s labour laws or the precedent that had been set when negotiating projects of this nature.
“There is no breach of the labour laws because it is a specific provision of the contract that they (Chinese workers) have to pay PAYE and NIS… that’s in the contract,” he said.
Asked whether he is concerned about the calls for his resignation by the opposition AFC/ APNU alliance, he declared: “I don’t work for those people making those statements, I work for the government.” He noted that “everyone is extremely pleased with the pace of progress that they have seen in the recent months and it has been seen with such a structure in a very long time or ever”.
Brassington, who also headed the National Industrial and Commercial Investment Limited (NICIL), was quick to point out that there was no wastage of taxpayers’ money, as value for money was an issue that attracted the attention of the negotiators from the onset.
Asked for a comment on the matter, Minister Gopaul said that while Guyanese workers may not be seen regularly on the site, they were involved at every stage of the project and have been providing a significant portion of the resources needed for the construction of the hotel.
“Guyanese workers are supplying all of the materials needed for this project… there are several small-, medium- and large-scale companies involved with the Marriott …,” the labour minister said.
Beneficiaries
Upon investigating this newspaper learnt that Brans Security Services, Rid-O-Pest, TCL Guyana Incorporated, Rajpaul Limited, Toolsie Persaud Limited, BK International, Demerara Oxygen Company, Cevons Waste Management, Farfan and Mendes Limited and several Guyanese construction agencies have benefited from the project and taxpayers’ money which have gone in part to their hardworking employees both new (for the project) and existing.
A closer examination revealed that BK International and its workers would have benefited from in excess Gy$ 240 million for concrete and hollow blocks, Gafsons Industries Limited in excess of Gy$ 58 million, Vibert Singh who has excavation equipment in excess of Gy$15 million and TCL Guyana Gy$ 10 million for cement.
200- plus Guyanese to gain employment
The project will eventually employ more than 200 Guyanese, Brassington said, once it opens its doors next year, and these will be the permanent workers.
The Chinese on the site are temporary and will leave once construction is completed, he noted. The progress has been rapid and given the type of construction, it may be a record of sorts in the field, according to Brassington.
