The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport has paid over to the Ministry of Finance the sum of US$598,000 (approximately $119.6M) on the $165.7M the government had taken from the Consolidated Fund to advance Buddy’s International Hotel for the purchase of its rooms for Cricket World Cup 2007.

Minister Dr Frank Anthony told Stabroek News last week that the money, which was paid by the ICC CWC West Indies Inc 2007, has already been returned to the Consoli-dated Fund, and the remainder would be recovered through room nights.

The rooms were bought at the rate of US$225 each and about 150 rooms had been occupied per night during the period. The government had expected to cash in on the rooms by selling them for a profit. It is not known at what rate they were sold.

This left an outstanding balance of $46.1 million, but President Bharrat Jagdeo had told the media since that the government would be recovering the funds advanced through room nights.

According to Anthony, Buddy’s International Hotel has agreed to give the government 1,182 room nights to cover the balance that the government was unable to recover from the sale of the rooms during the six Super Eight matches Guyana hosted for the Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007.

When asked earlier this year whether the government had recovered in full the advance it had paid to Buddy’s on the rooms, President Jagdeo had told the media that the government had bought all of the rooms in the hotel through the advance and it was the government’s duty to sell the rooms. He admitted that not all the rooms had been sold. Guyana was the only host country which had purchased in the advance the rooms intended to be used by CWC for the teams, officials and media. Questions have been raised as to why such a large amount of rooms was purchased in advance by the government when CWC was unlikely to use them all.

Proprietor of Buddy’s, Omprakash Shivraj, was not duty bound to assist the government in recovering the advance but had agreed to give the government over 1,000 room nights to meet the difference in the sum advanced, Jagdeo had said, adding that it was a gesture Guyanese should be grateful for.

A standard room at Buddy’s costs US$125 per night and a deluxe room is US$160 per night. The rates for the executive and presidential suites are much higher.

The standard rate being used to recover the difference has been estimated at US$225 and not the lower rates, Stabroek News understands from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. It is unclear how that rate was arrived at.

When the advance was made to Buddy’s and another facility still under construction, the Casique Palace and Banqueting Halls, Jagdeo had given the assurance that all the funds would be repaid.