PM Barrow Talks B.T.L. Settlement

Dean Barrow

It is expected that in the first part of this year, an arbitration tribunal will determine the value of shares arising from the nationalization of Belize Telemedia Limited. Now, government has already paid a total of one hundred and sixty million dollars as part of a compensation package for B.T.L. assets agreed to between Lord Michael Ashcroft and Prime Minister Dean Barrow. G.O.B. has also agreed to pay an award to be determined by the international tribunal. We asked PM Barrow how government intends to pay the undisclosed sum.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“Clearly sometime this year I would think by the middle of the year. I’ve said were not exactly rolling in money these days; various reasons including the huge drop off in Petrocaribe flows and the reduction in oil prices and that has pretty much paid to our own oil industry our own export of petroleum via B.N.E.  So it is going to be difficult to find the money to make the payment. It strikes me that we’ll have to take on a little bit more debt – domestic debt now – by way of treasury bills to raise that money but we fully intend to discharge our obligations that is the honorable thing to do.”