Prime Minister Gaston Browne has publicly confirmed that Minister Daryll Matthew is constructing a small hotel, defending the project and saying there is “no conflict” in a Cabinet member investing in the tourism sector.

Speaking on the Browne and Browne Show, Browne said the development is already underway. “There’s a development there already. I see that. A little hotel. I see that,” he said, before revealing that the project belongs to his colleague.

“I hope he doesn’t mind me disclosing. But as far as I’m concerned, we shouldn’t have to hide. I’m sure that his money is clean money, government money, one of our colleagues. Minister Matthew has taken the decision to build out a little hotel here, probably a 15- or 20-room hotel.”

Browne said Matthew had followed the rules and paid the fair market price for the land, adding that the Cabinet supports the initiative. “There’s no conflict here in the sense that he has performed,” he said. “If his government lands and he’s paying the fair price as established, and he wants to do another project, we will certainly support him.”

The prime minister criticized assumptions that any investment by a public official amounts to wrongdoing. “The tendency of our people, as soon as they see anybody in the cabinet making an investment, oh, it’s corruption,” he said.

Browne said the hotel is part of a broader wave of private-sector activity and expansion in the tourism industry, which has seen increased interest in boutique properties and mid-size developments.

The PM did not provide a construction timeline for the hotel, but said Matthew has Cabinet’s “continued support” for the project.