| Despite gov’t hostility, sees Marriott as a ‘sour grapes’ projectBusinessman Robert Badal is spending US$8 million to upgrade the Pegasus Hotel,The Aromas restaurant at the Pegasus Hotel.which he bought over from Le Meridien three years ago.Badal is investing in the Pegasus at a time when he now has to compete with efforts by the government to establish a Marriott-branded hotel right next to his hotel.“I have to pay taxes,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, and my staff members have to pay taxes even before they see their salary, and that very tax is being taken to compete with us. It is fundamentally wrong; it doesn’t auger well for investments by the private sector,” Badal argues.He sees the Marriott project as a vindictive “sour grapes” response initiated by the former Jagdeo government after it failed to secure the property for Jagdeo’s allies.Some groups had demonstrated an interest and Government had a four per cent stake in the hotel.The upgrades Badal is currently pursuing at the Pegasus include a completely new exterior look, taking on a modern feel, along with a fine-dining restaurant on the roof of the hotel which overlooks Main Street and historical Kingston.The hotel is geared to open a new bar at the Pegasus poolside, and plans also for a wine bar that will offer a wide selection of wines, gourmet cheeses, crackers, chocolates and all that go with it.Already, the rooms on the third, fourth and fifth floors have been renovated. But Badal is willing to take things further.If the demand justifies it, he could add a new tower comprising 150 one-bedroom suites providing ultra-modern world class facilities.But Badal, who is most known for taking over Guyana Stockfeeds in 1998 and making it in a multi-billion dollar operation, sees mischief afoot by the government in using tax payers dollars to establish a Marriott-branded hotel just next to his hotel.What he is peeved about is not the actual setting up of the hotel; he is angry that the government is using taxes to directly compete with him.“My problem is when the government deliberately seeks to compete directly with the private sector; it’s a wholesale assault on the private sector and an assault on an honest investment in the hotel industry.This is what the exterior of the Pegasus Hotel would look like after refurbishment.However, Badal is not against private businesses investing in the hotel industry. “Whoever has money and wants to take the risk, let him put their money.”“The government must stay out of business and allow the private sector to invest,” Badal declared, stating that if businessmen see profit in a Marriott-branded hotel, they would invest.The total debt on the Marriott-branded hotel would be borne by tax payers’ dollars and a senior debt syndicated by Republic Bank (Trinidad and Tobago). Badal sees the deal as a continuation of the cycle of corruption.With no investors coming on board, the government sought the arrangement with Republic Bank (Trinidad) to bring together a group of financial institutions to back the project on the guarantee that the group will be the first to get back its money if the project fails.For Republic Bank (Trinidad) to take that risk,China Soccer Jerseys, the government would have had to make some strong concessions, Badal suggests.“Why is Republic Bank going in? There is something the government is not telling us. I feel there is a government guarantee. If that’s the case,Blake Swihart Jersey, it’s the government putting all the money,” Badal argued.He noted that apart from what is coming from the arrangement with Republic Bank,Cheap NFL Gear, the rest of the money to construct the hotel is coming from government, namely the government assets-holding entity,Nike Basketball Shoes Clearance Sale, NICIL.In the three years that it will take to build the hotel, the interest on the debt, Badal stated, will amount to US$12.8M, and Atlantic Hotel Incorporated (the new company the government created for the hotel project) would not have that income to cover it.According to Badal, the income the hotel will make in its operations would not be enough to cover a fraction of the interest cost alone.“Giving a guarantee with prospect of failure means the tax payers will be called upon that when it fails,” Badal declared, saying that ”competition must be fair, I will fight all the way .”Badal took interest in the hotel in 2008. That was after Le Meridien had already exhausted a three-year search for a buyer.The government, which maintained its four percent interest in the business,Adidas Basketball Shoes Sale, was offered the first opportunity to take over the hotel; it did not and the advertisements went out.Badal was chosen over the three other interested parties, and in September 2008, he negotiated a deal to close financing before the end of that year.Little did Badal know that he would be at the centre of “politics behind the scenes” by the Jagdeo government to prevent the deal from going through.The businessman remembers that he was the subject of several news items in the state media discussing his business affairs, attempting to show that he didn’t have credibility.“I found this very offensive,Nike Schuhe Neu Damen,” Badal said this week, as he recalled what transpired in the three months leading up to the final sale.He said that the sellers did “proper due diligence” to ensure that he had the ability and capacity to close the deal.But he said efforts were afoot “direct from government circles” to cause the sellers to back off, or to cause him to back out.Badal said that key government officials even told the sellers not to sell the hotel to him because there was no way the Bank of Guyana would give approval for the transaction.Badal had to seal the deal on December 31, 2008.“The Bank of Guyana approval came on the afternoon of 31st of December; so you see there was a clear effort behind the scenes to prevent me from owning the hotel, to show me in a bad light, to use every facility within the government to block the deal because the powers at Office of the President wanted their group to buy the hotel.”Reliable sources told Kaieteur News that the government went as far as seeking legal advice on how it could acquire the property compulsorily.Despite the hostility he has faced, Badal said that he is determined to let the Pegasus remain the country’s premier hotel.“It’s a lot of patriotism and faith in Guyanese that is in this hotel.” |
