‘Farcical’ Civil Society Summit… Organisers default on $4M debt for venue, rentals, food
GNCPP Chairman, Mr. Phillip Mozart-Thomas
GNCPP Chairman, Mr. Phillip Mozart-Thomas

THE Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), Rent-A-Tent Guyana, and Grand Coastal Hotel are counting their losses after $4.2M in unpaid debt was racked up by the hitherto unheard of NGO, Guyana National Council for Public Policy (GNCPP).The organisation’s indebtedness has to do with the hosting of what, in some quarters, has been deemed a ‘farcical’ civil society summit.

That Summit was organised by Phillip Mozart-Thomas, Chairman of the GNCPP, whom the Office of the President (OP) had, prior to the event, deemed a questionable character, and as such had urged citizens to have nothing to do with it.

Contacted by this publication, the GICC Management was able to confirm that Mr. Thomas attempted to make a downpayment of $3.3M on December 16, the day before the three-day summit was scheduled to begin. That cheque, with an account from the Bank of Nova Scotia, would have covered the venue, equipment from Rent-A-Tent, and catering from the Grand Coastal International Hotel.

Management of GICC also confirmed that an arrangement was made for 600 persons to attend the event, but the GNCPP had indicated that this amount would be reduced by some 400 persons for the second and final days. Payment of $3.3M for these arrangements was made, using a cheque from the Bank of Nova Scotia which, the GICC management said, was deposited on December 17.

The GICC management further disclosed that a request was made to Mr. Thomas for payment of other monies owed before the second day, but “at the end of the first day, they (GNCPP) announced that the event would be moved to their [Kingston] head office.”

Asked whether a decision to move the event would cause the GNCPP not to pay the full cost of $4M, the GICC Management responded in the negative, since the Centre would have already spent monies in preparation for the three-day event, which had been expected to last from December 17 to December 19, 2014.

Things took a turn for the worse on December 31, when the GICC Management was informed that the cheque which was used by Mr. Thomas to make the $3.3M down payment had bounced, and was returned to the GICC with the words “Account Frozen” printed on it.

In an effort to reclaim their losses, the GICC Management said they made contact with Mr. Thomas on the day the cheque was returned, requesting other arrangements for payment. Mr. Thomas was said to have responded that he is aware of the situation and would get back to them, but the GICC Management is still waiting on a response.

The GNCPP has come under fire following full page ads in early December, which appeared in major newspapers for more than two days. The question of where funding for such an affair comes from is still on the table, with even more questions on how the GNCPP is able to afford its Kingston office and labour force for the three-day summit in December.

Mr. Thomas had told this publication on the day of the summit’s opening that funding for the summit comes from a number of organisations, as well as businesses which are to be named at an upcoming event. This event has not been held.

 

 

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