No conspiracy will stop Marriott

– Ali lashes out at Opposition parties for creating blockades to development

Acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali

Acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali has warned the opposition political parties that none of their conspiracies or campaigns of misinformation will stop the administration from constructing the five-star Marriott branded hotel in Guyana.
Ali’s comment came in light of the feverish parliamentary debate which took place on Monday in the National Assembly and culminated with the opposition using its one-seat majority to pass a motion which sought to deprive the project of funding from the public purse.
Minister Ali said that the intention of the combined opposition is to create constant blockades to development in the country through clearly orchestrated outcries about alleged corruption and lack of transparency.
Ali said the AFC had descended into lobbying through the party after it recognised that it could not provide empirical information and analysis that would prove claims that the Marriott project would be uneconomical and financially unviable.
“We will expose their inability to put aside their partisan interests in this matter and allow a nation to benefit from this good. How can AFC and its cohorts paint themselves as champions of transparency, but would so blatantly seek to deprive Guyana of such a transformative project because of their self-interests,” he said.
Ali said the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration will be the victors in the end and the benefits of a renowned Marriott hotel will be enjoyed by Guyanese and the Caribbean as a whole.
He said that the main opposition party, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the AFC must be painted with the same brush and seen as the same political unit because they too refused an invitation from President Donald Ramotar to discuss the project, its benefits and feasibility.
The tourism minister said that it is clear from the posture of the opposition parliamentary parties that their concerns about the Marriott project are not related to transparency and accountability, but wreaks of political venom and vendetta.

No evidence Marriott project would fail
He said that the opposition failed to use any iota of economic evidence or even research studies to prove why a Marriott Hotel should not be constructed in Guyana. Ali reminded the opposition that it was the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and then Finance Minister Carl Greenidge who established the National Industrial Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) as a holding company and incorporation.
He reasoned that the Marriott project which falls within the investments that the entity is making is not attempting to deprive citizens of their hard earned tax payers’ dollars, but is sound and viable. “The Marriott project would not deprive the public purse of any substantial amount of revenue in the form of concessions and taxes as the opposition is advocating,” Ali said.
He noted that any hotelier operating in Guyana would benefit from incentives, as outlined in the laws of the country, once they have a hotel with more than 35 rooms.
According to Ali, the AFC failed to appreciate the financial viability of the project; its social and economic investment benefits; the aims and objectives of the strategic five year plan for the tourism sector and the structural transformation that would ensue as a result of Marriott establishing shop here.
Some US$6.4 billion is expected to be yielded from the Marriott project based on a 10 year holding period. The rate of return of the investment is being touted at 11 per cent, which NICIL will enjoy a 16.6 per cent rate of return on its equity investment.
“This immediately debunks the argument that the project is not economically viable and does not attract a favourable rate of return,” he noted.

Private investments and capital
Ali rubbished Ramjattan’s contention that the project was economically inapt and had failed or would fail to secure private sector capital. He announced that the public/private partnership is rich in support from the private sector, businessmen and stakeholders in the local and regional tourism sector.
He was adamant that commercial banks and private capital will flow into the project, expressing disappointment that Ramjattan was so marred with political malice and hatred that he could not appreciate the fact that the project was bigger than him.
“We must not allow our selfish political agenda to blind the rest of the people… we must not stray from the truth,” Ali told a highly offended Ramjattan in the parliamentary chambers.
The Marriott project could also see Guyana enjoying Gy$17.4 billion in the value added sector.
Expounding on the other benefits that arise as a result of the investment, the tourism minister contended that the AFC is seeking to deprive Guyanese of 250 direct new jobs and another 100 indirectly. Guyana could also become one of the corporate destinations of choice for the holding of large summits and high level world conferences.