Odhiambo Orlale
26 April 2008
Nairobi — The new receiver managers of the controversial Grand Regency Hotel on Friday took over from their predecessors as plans to sell the business in a month went into top gear.
Sources at the ultra-modern hotel disclosed the managers - Mr Geoffrey Karuu and Mr Patrick Kamau - are from auditing firm Ernst & Young. Their predecessors are Mr H.W. Gichohi and Mr Peter Ndaa.
Mr Gichohi and Mr Ndaa were appointed by the High Court as receiver managers of the five-star hotel, which has been the centre of a protracted legal tussle between the Central Bank of Kenya and Mr Kalesh Pattni, the architect of the Goldenberg scandal.
The sources further said that the Ernst & Young team had visited the hotel last week and addressed the staff shortly after Mr Pattni surrendered it to CBK. It is situated on a prime plot in the city centre, next to Uhuru Highway.
Attempts to get comments from either Mr Karuu or Mr Kamau were unsuccessful as we were referred to CBK Governor Njuguna Ndung'u, who was also not available.
Before the surrender, Mr Pattni had addressed a press conference at the entrance of the hotel, together with the director of Kenya Anti- Corruption Commission, Mr Justice Aaron Ringera, and the CBK governor.
On Thursday, Finance minister Amos Kimunya announced that Grand Regency would be sold within a month by auction.
He said the highest bidder exceeding the reserved price would take the multi-billion-shilling hotel from Uhuru Highway Developers, which is associated with Mr Pattni.
Speaking in Mombasa, the minister had said: "A team is already working on the modalities of selling the hotel. Persistent management problems facing the hotel may have affected its status."
The minister dismissed claims that the hotel had been sold to a Libyan.
"These claims are not true but yes, we intend to sell the hotel," he said.
Sale report
"We will only say we have sold it once we have a cheque in our hands," Mr Kimunya said.
The modalities of the sale report would be presented to Parliament by the minister next week in a ministerial statement sought by Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara.
The Government already has a valuation report of the facility, which would be used as a benchmark at the auction.
However, the hotel was worth less than the Sh7.9 billion claimed in some quarters, he said.
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