Chamber of Commerce won’t make irresponsible, uninformed comment on hotelier eviction – Regisford

The Chamber of Commerce will not make an irresponsible and uninformed comment on the eviction of hotelier Ann Joshua from the government owned Cobblestone Inn hotel.

Executive director of the Chamber Anthony Regisford, in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT yesterday, said he is unsure if his organization will respond at all.{{more}}

“It may very well be that the landlord and the tenant… come up with some sort of resolution, so we are not taking up the case, per se, as the people appointed to represent Ann Joshua; we cannot.”

On July 12, Joshua, who has been operating the hotel for the last 30 years, was served a ‘Notice to Quit’ the premises by September 30, 2016, by the solictor for the National Properties Ltd (NPL), Grahame Bollers.

Regisford said that even though they may not comment, the Chamber has a general interest in the matter, as to the fairness of what had taken place.

“One of the things that come to mind is that [because of ] the nature of the business … for the eviction to be effective September seems extremely short, given the fact that it is a hotel and they may have some commtiments in terms of bookings beyond September, so we feel that we want to urge the parties to look at that very carefully.”

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said earlier this week on radio that the Government had decided that, in the interest of transparency and proper development of that property and other government properties, there should be an open tendering process, but first, the relationship with Joshua must be ended legally.

Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace dismissed Gonsalves’ position, saying Joshua has been politically victimized. Describing the eviction as one of the “nastiest acts” ever commited by a government in SVG, Eustace said on radio Joshua does not deserve such treatment as she does not owe the Government and all her statutory payments are up to date.

When Regisford spoke with SEARCHLIGHT yesterday, the executive director also said that he sees the Chamber has having an oversight role when the operation of the hotel is put out to tender.

“I would like the Chamber to be invited to have some sort of oversight, inasmuch as this issue has become public, to ensure that that process is fair and transparent.

“Beyond that, we cannot act on information that is unofficial. Plenty people have a lot to say on this issue; people have different agendas. We cannot afford to take a position based on what Mr A is saying and Mr B is saying; we have to hear from Ann (the hotel operator).”

Regisford said he reached out to Joshua on Wednesday, but his call has not yet been returned. He said he intended to try again to reach her yesterday (Thursday).

The executive director used the opportunity to stress that had Joshua been a member of the Chamber, his organization would have been in a better position to assist.

“People ask about the significance of membership [of the Chamber]. The Chamber can only be as effective as its members. It is a membership organization. The Chamber does not belong to Tony Regisford. If Ann was a member of the Chamber, and something like that happened, instantly, she would have engaged the Chamber with her information and her details. We would not have had to go looking and searching, and that is the beauty of a membership organization. People have to understand that. It is not that we are not representing businesses, but we cannot exist by magic. We don’t get a subsidy from anybody.

“…You can’t sit outside the organization and expect the organization to be speedy in its response to issues that may affect you individually,” Regisford explained.

On the other hand, he said, if something happens that affects businesses across the board, their response would be different.