Sheraton Kampala Hotel has pledged to continue supporting Sanyu Babies Home. The Hotel handed-over a sh4.8m cheque to Joyce Lulindya, the administrator of Sanyu Babies Home, recently.
The general manager Jawaid Akhtar said that the 900 Sheraton hotels worldwide feel that it is a moral commitment to give money to charity organisations to alleviate the plight of the poor. “We would like to continue supporting Sanyu Babies Home,”
Akhtar said

Sheraton’s sales executive Jacqueline Nalubega said the company donated sh11m to the home earlier on.

By Kisibo Jackie
Uganda hotel news

OVER 300 dairy exhibitors are attending the second African Dairy Conference at Speke Resort and Country Lodge in Munyonyo.

The event has attracted dairy processors, distributors, equipment suppliers, packaging and pharmaceutical firms and veterinary medicine suppliers.

By Kisibo Jackie
Uganda Hotel News

Mulago Hospital senior nurses on Tuesday vacated their official residences in Nakasero to give way for the construction of a $90m hotel to be constructed by Sudanese-owned AYA Industries.

The hotel is expected to be ready for the Commonwealth summit next year. This construction must be done in 12 months since this is the deadline and the remaining 6 months will give the hotels time to train their staff for the common wealth meeting which will be attended by 52 heads of state.

A representative of the investor on Monday met the nurses and explained to them the need to vacate the quarters, composed of two blocks with four flats each, one block of two flats and several servants’ rooms.

By Kisibo Jackie
Uganda Hotel News

Hotels under construction and targeting the commonwealth have been given a 12 months deadline to complete construction.

The commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) that is scheduled for November 2007 in Kampala is only 18 months away.
The CHOGM secretariat in Kampala said that the hotels are left with 12 months to complete construction and then the remaining 6 months are needeed by the new hotels to to recruit and trin staff for the Big meeting.

The Serena Kampala Serena hotel which is to host the the opening ceremony is in its final stages of construction. Big media channels like CNN and BBC will cover the event.

A committee has been se up under the ministry of Tourism trade and Industry to get work of grading hotels started. This can only be done when hotel construction has been completed and necessary repairs and fittings finalised.

By Kisibo Jackie
Uganda Hotel News

A Kenyan-based hotel, Golden Leaves Hotels & Resorts (Kenya) Ltd, has petitioned the Tax Appeal Tribunal challenging Uganda Revenue Authority’s decision demanding Shs3.4 billion in Value Added Tax. The two companies claim that in 2002, Golden Leaves agreed to refurbish, furnish, equip and manage Sheraton Kampala Hotel. They claim the agreement provided that Golden Leaves was to act solely as agents of Apollo Hotel Corporation including for purpose of debts and liabilities.

They claim that Golden Leaves applied and obtained an investment trader status and paid input tax amounting to Shs1.8 b.
However, later when the petitioners discovered that Golden Leaves was not entitled to pay such tax, they asked URA to refund the money, which URA did. The two claim that on August 18, 2005, URA made a demand for Golden Leaves to return the said monies including interests and penalties on grounds that the same had been wrongly returned.

URA computations including all interests and penalties increased the figure to Shs3.4 b. The petitioners also claim that URA has issued a third party agency notice to their banks; Barclays, Standard Chartered and Stanbic, attaching Shs990,398,633 purportedly using the VAT Act. They contend that Golden Leaves, though registered as an investment trader, is not the owner of the hotel and shall therefore not be taxed after the renovation of the hotel.

Golden Leaves and Apollo Hotel Corporation, proprietors of Sheraton Kampala Hotel, jointly filed the case against URA.

By Kisibo Jackie
Uganda Hotel news