Musa: Carnival contract valid but needs “clarification”

The occasion was the inauguration of a project to strengthen the Public Utilities Commission, but after delivering his short keynote address, Prime Minister Said Musa agreed to sit down for a half hour with what has become an increasingly aggressive press corps. The Q and A covered a variety of subjects ranging from the Carnival contract to the visit of the IMF. We’ll begin tonight’s broadcast with the problems surrounding that agreement with Carnival in which the huge company pledges to construct a hundred million dollar cruise terminal in Belize City. What’s the problem, you ask? How do you alter a signed contract that many observers believe was a giveaway by the Government of Belize?

Prime Minister Said Musa

?On the Carnival agreement side, I am satisfied that as a whole it is a good agreement. It is a good project. There are a few issues that we believe need to be clarified–modified if you’d like–and we’re now in discussions with Carnival to resolve those matters.?

?I decided to take the matter to Cabinet and I did in order to have these matters cleared; the air cleared on these issues. It’s not a question of Cabinet saying that the contract must be renegotiated. I need to make that absolutely clear. It’s a case of Cabinet agreeing with a proposal that we should have–I think two or three matters–at the most in the contract clarified; that is all.?

?The project is ongoing and in fact there is preliminary work going on even now in terms of doing the soils testing and all that needs to be done before the actual piling or construction begins. So to suggest or to believe that the project has been put on hold is not correct. The project is ongoing, but in the process because of the concerns that have been raised from certain quarters, yes, we are seeking to clarify certain issues regarding the contract which is a legally binding contract.?