Johnny Breaks Down the UHS Loan

John Briceño

For the People’s United Party, the UHS loan guarantee goes back to the Musa Administration, one which this current government won’t let them forget. But when the Leader of the Opposition, John Briceño made his contribution, he drew the line on the sand as it relates to a loan which started at thirty-three point five million dollars and has ballooned to a whopping ninety-five million dollars.  Briceño said that the debate was a circus, during which the U.D.P. will attack the P.U.P. for something that was already settled. 

John Briceño, Leader of the Opposition

“Our P.U.P. government came up with a program called N.H.I.  The National Health Insurance was designed to provide affordable health care for all.  This is a policy that the new P.U.P. government will continue to implement. Our government encouraged the private sector to get involved and to expand clinics and hospitals to successfully implement N.H.I.  A group of investors borrowed from DFC to build Universal Health Care Services (UHS).  Now let me point out that this very hospital that the P.M. and the U.D.P. has so vilified, has provided excellent health care services to the Belizean people.  A few years later, unfortunately, the owners of UHS couldn’t pay the loan and the Bank came knocking at the government’s door to collect.   This became such a volatile issue that then P.M. Musa recognized that a) The debt had to be paid and b) That he couldn’t use Belizean tax dollars to pay for it.  So, he successfully managed to get the funds from our friends, including Venezuela, grants (free money) to pay off the debt to the Bank. Just imagine the disappointment of the P.M. and the U.D.P. In March 2008, when they found out that the UHS debt was at zero, nada!”