Anyone with an eye on acquiring Grand Ubumwe Hotel has more time to prepare following the postponement of its auction from December 10- 24. The process also now has a new receiver after the withdrawal of city lawyer Athanase Rutabingwa. The new receiver of the property is Joseph Ngabonziza. Rutabingwa said that he requested to withdraw from the case to avoid a breach of professionalism after being appointed the receiver by the Rwanda Development Board. He said as he has previously acted as counsel for Grand Ubumwe Hotel, he did not find it ideal to proceed with the auction for professional reasons. According to Ngabonziza, the new date is a result of the restart of the process under a new reciever The high-end property is up for auction by KCB Rwanda due to unpaid loans amounting to about $18 million (approximately 15.8 billion). The property is co-owned by Alykhan Karmali from Mukwano Group, Private Sector Federation Chairman Robert Bapfakurera, and global multi-National, Chaudhary Group (CG Corp Global). The bank had in September this year written to Rwanda Development Board notifying them of their intention to foreclose on the facility for the unpaid loan. The foreclosure would either be in form of an auction or administration. The bank, however, decided on an auction after evaluation aspects such as the ability to manage the property and time taken to recover the money. The bank last week told The New Times that the way forward also took into account the fact that the shareholders can afford to pay off the loan but have failed to settle internal disputes. The disputes are said to have risen following a breach of an agreement that provided that CG Corp would manage the property under its ‘The Zinc’ brand. The bank, however, said that there is still a chance to save the situation as there are talks and deliberation among players involved to find an alternative to the auction. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
