The East New Britain provincial administration has received K43, 875 as their 2022 dividend payment today from Gazelle International Hotel (GI).
The cheque was presented to Governor Michael Marum and East New Britain acting provincial administrator Levi Mano by the Hotel Manager Luis Gomes and chairman of the hotel Professor David Kavanamur.
The dividend following an 8.75 share own by the provincial government and the hotel management has been paying dividend since 2014 which is a total of K15 million has been paid over the period of years to all the shareholders.
According to Mr Mano he thanked GI hotel for their dedication and commitment in paying the dividend to the provincial government stating that business environment is not so good but this payment has come from the hard work and effort of the chairman of the hotel and team.
He said it is important that the people of the province know this as people need to know that some business operations in the province are actually giving back to the people and to the province.
“We appreciate all your support since 2014 it is hard to come up with such amount but we are thankful and we can always work together in the future,” he said.
Governor Marum also extended his appreciation to the hotel management and look forward to assist in upgrading the hotel.
He said these funds will go a long way in assisting the people of the province.
Hotel General Manager Luis Gomes said GI is a proud recipient of the provincial government and has been performing well over the years.
He said of the K15 million shared between all shareholders K1.3 million of those is for the provincial government.
He said GI has been paying constant dividend since 2014 and although the dividend is paid to the provincial government the linkages through the local economy is much more than the dividend itself because it provides the link to the local economy where service providers provide service to the hotel.
Mr Gomes said GI is one of the best investment for the provincial government and the purpose is to contribute to the economy development of the province.
He further stated that they are looking forward to province infrastructures development and the growing business in the hotel upgrade and keeping and raising the standard of tourism and hospitality in the province.