Casino bill linked to massive hotel projects
-- President
Guyana Chronicle
January 28, 2007
THE Casino Bill was not intended to give advantage to Buddy’s International Hotel to operate for Cricket World Cup (CWC), President Bharrat Jagdeo has said, announcing that the guarantee of a licence is the lure for “massive” hotel projects which will come on stream.
At a press conference Thursday, Mr. Jagdeo said there were “new big hotels on the horizon” and the guarantee of a casino licence was one of the prerequisites for such projects which would spur massive investment and the obvious creation of jobs.
He said even though Buddy’s Hotel, which is adjacent to the National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara, will meet the hotel requirement for a casino licence, it will not meet the service requirement.
Under the law which was passed in Parliament Monday, only hotels which meet a rooming capacity of more than 150 and have a four-star rating could operate casinos.
So, the President indicated that while Buddy’s which will have 260 rooms, thereby meeting the requirement, time will have to pass for it to meet up to the four-star rating.
Mr. Jagdeo indicated that the primary reason for the enactment of the law to allow casino gambling was to spur investment in the tourism sector, particularly to provide more hotel rooms for Guyana to host mega events.
He lamented the headache of the government in meeting the requirement needs of Teams, Officials, Media and Sponsors (TOMS) for CWC 2007, and posited that he was confident that Buddy’s, along with the 49-room US$4M Casique Hotel, which are located side by side, will be ready.
The government has already advanced monies to the two hotels as guarantee for the rooms.
Buddy’s, a US$8M-10M investment by the Shivraj Group, is slated for opening mid next month.
Mr. Jagdeo lashed out at those who claimed that the government was “godless” in pushing the casino legislation, stating that his government has utmost respect for the views of the religious community.
However, he said Guyana is a secular state and therefore religious and other considerations have to be put aside in making policies for the overall good of the country.
He said what was important is job creation, noting that the major hotel projects will satisfy this need. He said that between Buddy’s and Casique, 350 Guyanese will be employed.
The President indicated that prolonged discussions with the religious community would not have generated a different opinion, since the scriptures of the various religions are against gambling.
Mr. Jagdeo noted that the restrictions that come with the acquisition of a casino operating licence would ensure that the members of any of the religious organisations in Guyana are involved, since the casinos would not be open to locals.
Regarding the fears that casinos can spur money laundering, he said that money laundering could come about by any means, but the gaming authority that would have to be set up before any casino licence is granted will ensure strict controls.
Further, he stated that new money laundering legislation will soon be introduced in the National Assembly.
Mr. Jagdeo said he was convinced that in all the arguments about the legislation, “the truth got lost.”