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– demands immediate resignation of Finance Minister, BrassingtonGovernment’s explanation of why no locals were hired in the US$51M Marriott Hotel project in Kingston has drawn sharp reactions with the main opposition party in the National Assembly, leading to calls for the resignation of the Minister of Finance.A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Joseph Harmon, who has responsibility for public works, is now demanding the immediate resignations of Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, and head of the Atlantic Hotel Inc., Winston Brassington.Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni SinghAPNU has 26 seats in the National Assembly and together with the Alliance For Change, commands a one seat majority for the Opposition.On Friday, in wake of growing anger over news that checks at the project found no locals gainfully employed, Brassington in defense said that the contractor, Shanghai Construction Group (SCG), had demanded Chinese labour be used as part of the contract conditionalities.There have been questions why government was plunging state funds into such a venture, especially as there was no evidence that a feasibility study was ever conducted. While a number of private sector groups have publicly endorsed the project, none of them have reportedly admitted to wanting to invest in it.Monies, around $2B, were advanced since 2011 and construction began last year but negotiations with the investors are still continuing, a disclosure that is also angering Parliamentarians.According to Harmon, the country’s laws require that before work permits are granted to foreign nationals, there must be an absence of the skill in Guyana.“Was there an advertisement for the skills? Is there a shortage of labourers for construction in Guyana?”The MP said that the claims by Brassington flies in face of the very glaring reality that there is a high rate of unemployment among young people.“Did this requirement pass over the Minister of Labour or the Minister of Home Affairs and the venerable Attorney General, the champion of constitutional rights?”The fact that the Board of Directors of Atlantic Hotels Inc. agreed to these conditions should be grounds for their immediate firing, Harmon said.AHI, a subsidiary of government’s privatization arm, National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), reportedly includes a number of Government Ministers.Winston Brassington“We must not sell the rights of our people for a few million dollars. It would be interesting to note how much has been paid to the National Insurance Scheme and the Guyana Revenue Authority on behalf of these super efficient workers,” Harmon said.It was exactly in fear of a scenario like this that APNU had supported a motion, requiring all funding by the state to this project be approved by the National Assembly.“How could we, as a nation, accept that for the construction cost to be lowered, the right of Guyanese to work as guaranteed in the Constitution of Guyana and the Caribbean be frittered away?”On Friday, Brassington, in an exclusive interview with the state’s news agency, said that the use of a mostly Chinese labour force to construct the multi-million-dollar Marriott Hotel was just one of several conditionalities necessary for the facility’s efficient and speedy construction.Brassington, who has been under fire as head of NICIL/Privatisation Unit, which manages Government assets, explained that SCG won the bid to construct the hotel from 23 other firms.Initially, the price was US$65M, “but they were able to lower the cost to US$51M with the condition that they be able to control who they employ on the site,” the release said Friday.In defending SCG’s decision to hire Chinese nationals, Brassington said that the company indicated that “(it) had examined the level of skills available for the project as well as the levels of productivity.”APNU’s MP, Joe HarmonAccording to government, the hotel when completed will boast 197 rooms, a large ballroom, conference centre, a casino, nightclub, restaurant, a concrete walkway and all other amenities of a world-class hotel.However, the casino, nightclub and restaurant will be leased to a third party, which will manage them separately.Government, in defending its decision to build a Marriott Hotel, said there is a shortage of quality rooms in Guyana…a claim that has been denied by hotel owners who said that there are too many empty rooms to justify a new hotel.