Resort developer says he's not defying authorities
BUSINESSMAN Mr Lennox John yesterday said his intention was not to "challenge the lawful authorities" by putting up `Splashmin's Fun Park and Resort' at Madewini on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. John, during a media tour of the complex Thursday, admitted he did not get official permission but he moved on to State land more than two years ago and began building the tourism resort. He does not yet have a lease for some 13 acres of State land and more than 135 acres of swamp at Madewini where he is putting up the $600M resort. He appeared to be defying authorities to stop his project but after his remarks were reported in the Chronicle yesterday, John said he was not "daring the authorities to stop him legally or lawfully". In a statement, he claimed he meant "it has always been an uphill battle to get the project to where it is at this point". The Ashmin Trading owner said in any business venture there are risks and "in facing those risks he referred to the quote `The greater the battle, the sweeter the victory'." He said `Splashmin's' preferred to note the "tourist value of its operations and the thousands who will benefit as a result of a well ordered, planned and executed project". John considers himself a "patriotic, law-abiding citizen but at the same time he is an energetic businessman and entrepreneur who will take risks". According to John, the Environmental Protection Agency has approved the project and the investment agency, GOINVEST, and the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Industry have endorsed it. "...No doubt the Lands and Surveys Department will follow with the requisite lease in the strict procedural manner that the department does business," the statement added. `Splashmin's' is going ahead with its pre-opening to the public tomorrow to "facilitate the thousands of Guyanese who use the Linden/Soesdyke Highway mainly at weekends for recreational purposes". The statement said John will not officially open his resort and facilities until the government regulations and stipulations have been met. Construction began mid-1997 in the Madewini swamp basin through which the Madewini River flows. Bulldozing and clearing vegetation from the land is ongoing and John said what he plans opening tomorrow is only a fraction of his proposal. The project is being done in phases over a five-year period. Phases one to four are nearing completion and these include dredging mud and vegetation and compacting sand to create a man-made beach stretching some 800 feet.
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