Director of Go-Invest Geoffrey Da Silva yesterday reiterated in a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release that to date no licence has been granted by government for casino gambling at Buddy's International Hotel.

Da Silva was responding to an article in the Sunday Stabroek which reported on a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) which had been signed between the Buddy's investor, Omprakash Shivraj and the Government of Guyana. GINA said that the Sunday Stabroek article reported that according to the MoU "a commitment was made for the granting of a licence to conduct casino gambling". In the release, GINA reported that Da Silva said the article was irresponsible and misleading since the state's obligation was to "facilitate a request by the investor to apply for a licence to conduct casino gambling."

This, Da Silva said, does not translate to a commitment on the part of government, for such a licence to be granted. Such a decision, he said, must fall within the laws of Guyana. He further said that a press conference will be held shortly to address this issue.

In a response last evening, Stabroek News Editor Anand Persaud said it appeared that neither Da Silva nor GINA had read the Sunday Stabroek report carefully. Persaud said the headline and the report had made it clear that the government had agreed to facilitate the company's request to operate a casino as far as was permitted by the country's laws. Persaud said at no time did the report say that the MoU contained a commitment for the granting of a licence to conduct casino gambling. Persaud said he was also pleased to hear that a press conference would be held on the matter as the untoward secrecy surrounding the Buddy's deal needed to be explained. Persaud said it was shocking that the government would sign a MoU with Buddy's which included a non-disclosure clause and the government would have to explain this.

Persaud said the government must conduct its business transparently and the Buddy's MoU was certainly not an example of this. Persaud pointed to an interview the Stabroek News had with Organisation of American States Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza who was here for the Rio Summit in which he stated that some governments in Latin America in particular have problems with a lack of transparency.

While, GINA reported Da Silva as saying that to date no licence has been granted by government for the provision of casino gambling at Buddy's, the February 25 edition of the Sunday Stabroek, reported Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee as telling this newspaper during the recent budget debate that neither Buddy's Hotel nor any other had applied for casino licences.

Rohee had said that after the debate was over he was going to look at putting together the regulations which would guide the establishment of the gaming authority.