Gorstew, one of the partners in the controversial Sandals Whitehouse Hotel project, has blasted Observer columnist Dennis Morrison, accusing him of bias and dishonesty in his commentaries on the issue.

In a letter to the Observer, Gorstew said that Morrison has compromised himself as a civil servant and should resign. Following is the full text of the letter.

Jamaica has long cherished the great tradition of impartiality in the civil service. It is one of the last bastions of our democratic way of life. And it is for this reason that we depend on our public servants to steer clear of partisan politics, evenly dividing the truth at all times.

On Wednesday, September 13, 2006, Dennis Morrison launched the most wanton attack on the principle of civil service impartiality, in respect of the Sandals Whitehouse Hotel affair. Clearly taking sides in a matter which is controversial at best, Mr Morrison has conjured up a kaleidoscope of spins and yarns, smoke and mirrors designed to confuse and bamboozle the populace.

But if he demonstrates his abject disregard for civil service impartiality, Mr Morrison also betrays another great tradition, journalistic integrity, balance and fairness. In his twice-weekly column in the Observer newspaper titled “Those cost overruns”, he recklessly avoids the facts and makes dangerous insinuations unbecoming of an impartial civil servant or a columnist sworn to journalistic tenets. The question, of course, is what is Mr Morrison’s motive? What is he so desperately protecting?

Dennis Morrison is no ordinary Joe. In government, he enjoys a status akin to a permanent secretary. Indeed, he is chairman or a member of several key state boards, including the Airports Authority of Jamaica, the Jamaica Tourist Board and the Jamaica Bauxite Institute, among others.

Writing a column is always a difficult undertaking for a high level civil servant. In some countries it is not allowed, and where it is, there are usually strict guidelines. For good reasons. It is always going to be difficult to divorce the public servant from the columnist. And it must be clear at all times that it is the public interest which must come first. We believe that Mr Morrison is well aware of this imperative. But that he is willing to risk it all. Again, the question is why?

In “Those cost overruns at Sandals Whitehouse”, Dennis Morrison refers to the Forensic Audit Report to say that there is overcapacity and oversizing of several facilities at the hotel, including the back of house area, air conditioning and standby generator, to the tune of US$12 million.

“This means that the hotel can be expanded or another hotel built in close proximity to benefit from the investment put into this facility. My understanding is that at least one of the partners in Ackendown had been contemplating such a move,” he went on to say.

Given the fact that there are disputing parties in the Whitehouse project, Public Servant Morrison has no business whatsoever in taking sides, which is clearly implied in that statement.

It is important to ask how did the auditors or Mr Morrison come to the conclusion that there was overcapacity and oversizing? We are anxious to know on what calculations was this based.

Although Gorstew did not design the air conditioning system, we are aware that the system has three chillers. One must determine what is it that the auditors saw on the day or days that they visited Sandals Whitehouse to determine if this was overcapacity.

The number of chillers being operated at any one time depends on demand. In the hottest months, two of the three are used quite extensively and the third one is reserved for down time. Where then is the overcapacity? We would like to know.

In respect of the standby generator, the term overcapacity is again questionable. Whitehouse, a 360-key hotel, has a 2,400 KW generator. For the expansion of 180 keys that brought its Antigua property to 360 keys, Sandals has ordered a 2,500 KW generator. Whitehouse has a redundancy of 50 per cent. You would expect all quality hotels to have a redundancy of 100 per cent. Where, therefore, is the oversizing? We would like to know.

And yet, the most dangerous of all is Mr Morrison’s insinuation that Gorstew overdesigned Sandals Whitehouse in order to build another hotel beside it. Not even the auditors have suggested that, and if they had, they would be wrong. It is past out of order and is palpably irresponsible for a top public servant to go this far, without the facts to support him. Is he trying to influence the case which is in the courts? Because that would be dastardly.

But he goes further, because he conveniently ignores Gorstew’s insistence that it asked over and over again for information on the project’s finances, which the state-run Urban Development Corporation (UDC), the project manager, failed to supply until a month before the hotel was opened. Only then did we know of the massive overrun on the project. In reality, it is very difficult for the smallest of three partners to get the others to do what they should, especially in these circumstances.

We continue to maintain that there were very few changes to the original design when the change was made from a Beaches concept to a Sandals concept. Importantly, these changes led to savings. They certainly did not contribute to the massive and unconscionable overrun, as confirmed by the Forensic Audit.

But all this could have been accessed by Mr Morrison, who clearly did not want to be confused by the facts, or he would have asked to see the Heads of Agreement. He seems to have substantial more access to the UDC than Gorstew had as a partner!

It is not by mistake that Gorstew insisted on not being responsible for overruns, since we would have nothing to do with the appointment of contractors and sub-contractors. Or for that matter, operational issues relating to overall construction, as that would have been tantamount to taking a risk that was completely out of our control.

There is widespread perception that Government never seems to build anything on time or within budget. Consequently, based on that record, risking private funds in this manner would have been foolhardy. Hence that clause in the Heads of Agreement.

From the tone of his column, Mr Morrison is beginning to sound like someone who is desperately singing for his supper. Yet it is an issue far greater than anyone’s supper. It goes to the heart of what we have cherished in this country. It is indeed the thin edge of the wedge. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary must act to protect the civil service order from this wanton attack by Mr Dennis Morrison.

Mr Morrison is the latest public servant to compromise himself, following the Information Minister, Mr Colin Campbell who misled the country with his honky dory report on the Whitehouse audit. How will the country be able to trust the words of these men in the future?

For the sake of civil service integrity and the honour of this administration, Mr Morrison should resign forthwith or be relieved of his public responsibilities.