Oil minister defends government policies

Following Cabinet’s decision to rescind the highly favourable terms of two oil concessions granted to two local companies, today Minister of Natural Resources Florencio Marin went on record defending Belmopan’s motives. The interview with News Five’s Janelle Chanona took place in the minister’s Belmopan office with Inspector of Petroleum Andre Cho and Chief Executive Officer Alan Usher at his side. For almost an hour, the Minister maintained that the favourable terms granted to BCH International and ZMT International were born out of Cabinet’s sympathy for “bold Belizean investors” who were willing to take on the high risks of oil prospecting. Describing himself as an “optimist” and “a team player”, Marin says Government’s agenda was to find more oil, not dig up controversy.

Janelle Chanona
“You are saying what you took on June fifth, after you’re sworn in, what you presented to your colleagues was two contracts like the B.N.E. contract for your cabinet to approve?”

Florencio Marin, Minister of Natural Resources
“Yes.”

Janelle Chanona
“At the one point five?”

Florencio Marin
“Yes.”

Janelle Chanona
“And were you were comfortable with that, realizing what that would have meant if the risk had paid off?”

Florencio Marin
“Having come from the Corozal Free Zone that is a success story but what grave my heart is to see that not many Belizeans were prepared to invest in the Free Zone, that was already a success, they left it to the Orientals and I thought, and I supported the Cabinet decision, that if we were lenient towards our own, this would give more courage to our people to invest in projects like this.”

Janelle Chanona
“But do you agree that potentially more Belizeans would have benefited from a deal that was more favourably to the Belizean Government rather than three businessmen?”

Florencio Marin
“It is not three businessmen. The capital, the employment would have repercussions in the national economy. Foreign companies repatriate their money back. I am expecting that the Belizean companies will leave their money within the system and circulate and strengthen the Belizean economy.”

Janelle Chanona
“Do you understand that the public doesn’t see that argument, doesn’t see that position, do you understand their concern?”

Florencio Marin
“Janelle, what I understand is that this is campaign time for the political parties, we are on the verge of a national election that is what I understand. And our opponents have construed this for mischief, that is what is wrong and the media has accepted what the Opposition has said and this has compounded an economic problem that stands to benefit the Belizean people.”

Janelle Chanona
“But if this wasn’t exposed and the media didn’t highlight it then maybe the contracts won’t have been changed.”

Florencio Marin
“Maybe not but there is always a way, as I said, that the Belizean people benefit by way of employment, by way of capital formation to circulate within the system. Some company might not find oil; another company might come and find it. Seismic, the technology in seismic keeps changing, improving I guess, and the technology along with it, so one company might not find it, another one might come right beside and find it. The whole oil business has been like this everywhere that I read about it, full of risk, full of expectations and full of adventure so we cannot base argument and mislead the Belizean people on speculation.”

Janelle Chanona
“No, but it is a fact that these terms were far more favourable to the Belizeans.”

Florencio Marin
“I have said so, what is wrong with…suppose Janelle wants to get into the oil business later on. I have to treat Janelle similarly like the Belizean. I have to give her an edge to give her courage to go; it takes a lot of courage to venture into this thing.”

Janelle Chanona
“But a more than eighteen percent difference…you’d give me that much leverage?”

Florencio Marin
“Well the cabinet has already approved a format of what it will be now. And I have to implement what the cabinet directs me to do.”

Janelle Chanona
“But today your predecessor, Mr. Briceno, is accusing you of changing the contracts that he left and signing ones that should never have been brought to the table.”

Florencio Marin
“I will not comment on that, I have great respect for my deputy leaders, he happens to one. And I will respect his freedom of speech, even when I know better.”

Janelle Chanona
“But he is tarnishing your reputation.”

Florencio Marin
“He won’t, he can’t tarnish my reputation. Everybody knows what Florencio Marin stands for. Once I accepted responsibility as a cabinet minister and the cabinet decided this is the way to go, I went along with it.”

Janelle Chanona
“In the context of the documents that have been released to the media, do you categorically deny that those contracts, Cabinet approved the facts and figures in the p.s.a.’s were not changed subsequently and that’s the ones you signed?”

Florencio Marin
“I am not at liberty to discuss what happens in Cabinet. I could talk to you about decisions.”

Janelle Chanona
“Nothing was signed in Cabinet.”

Florencio Marin
“No.”

Janelle Chanona
“I am asking you, can you categorically tell me what you took to Cabinet was the same thing that what you later signed?”

Florencio Marin
“I found it in cabinet, I found it.”

Janelle Chanona
“What you found waiting for you in Cabinet was that…”

Florencio Marin
“Cabinet decided on it, and what Cabinet decided was what we acted on it. Cabinet was lenient towards the Belizean companies.”

Janelle Chanona
“But what they approved was what you signed?”

Florencio Marin
“Yes.”

Janelle Chanona
“What was taken to cabinet, what was approved by Cabinet members…”

Florencio Marin
“That was what was signed.”

Janelle Chanona
“…was exactly the same numbers in the p.s.a. table, that what you signed, the one point five percent start point?”

Florencio Marin
“That is what the Cabinet decided.”

Janelle Chanona
“And that’s what I signed?”

Florencio Marin
“That’s what I signed.”

Janelle Chanona
“Nobody told you at some point later, Florencio we want to change these things and you said, okay, and signed something else. Nobody told you that?”

Florencio Marin
“I…why should anybody tell me that?”

Janelle Chanona
“I have to ask.”

Florencio Marin
“My whole history in politics, you all know it. The journalists know who is running this country. I respect protocol. I have great respect for the body known as cabinet. I have taken an oath about this cabinet that we report decisions and I will comment on decisions. I will not be drawn into any details about anything.”

“I can explain this with pride before my constituents that what the Government of Belize is doing is the right thing. Belizeans should have an edge. What is so wrong with Belizeans having an edge? By doing what we have done, we would like more people to come in.”

Janelle Chanona
“The Commonwealth Secretariat Model does not include numbers regarding the p.s.a. table?”

Florencio Marin
“No. They leave it to the respective countries to make the adjustments. They give you the parameters where to work from.”

Janelle Chanona
“So then technically there was no reason to say that after it became approved in August, the Commonwealth Secretariat, then the numbers have to change?”

Florencio Marin
“You came with a mentality, a negative mentality this morning.”

Janelle Chanona
“No, no.”

Florencio Marin
“Governments decide.”

Janelle Chanona
“In the press release yesterday and the one that I got on Monday it said that on August twenty-eight the Cabinet agreed to adopt the Commonwealth Secretariat model. Subsequently all p.s.a.’s will be signed as per this deal. But now you’re telling me the table was never part of the model.”

Florencio Marin
“I didn’t say that.”

Janelle Chanona
“So tell me what…”

Florencio Marin
“The Commonwealth Secretariat model which is now a Belizean model because we have adopted it is the parameters that will be guiding concessions in the future. The numbers may vary. You are cornering the P.U.P. government right now but if there were to be a change which I hope not, what you will get with the very same crowd that are vilifying us for giving the edge to a Belizean company.”

Janelle Chanona
“But after the B.N.E. discovery, wasn’t it your government that said all subsequent terms will be more favourable to government…that B.N.E. only got that contract because they had fifty years of empty holes before?”

Florencio Marin
“I wasn’t here then.”

Janelle Chanona
“But you were in Government?”

Florencio Marin
“Yes, I am a member of the House of Representatives.”

Janelle Chanona
“You would have heard that position taken?”

Florencio Marin
“Yes.”.

Janelle Chanona
“And yet that still meshes with that attitude that okay, we found oil, now we have a little bit of leverage that we can change things. The investors can be the ones to say, Look!”

Florencio Marin
“Investors are free to negotiate and lobby Janelle, please understand that.”

Janelle Chanona
“But lobby to these terms?”

Florencio Marin
“They could lobby, lobby is lobbying, it doesn’t mean they are getting it. The cabinet decides.”

Tonight we understand that following Government’s “revision” of the ZMT and BCH contracts, ministry officials will meet with the companies’ principals: Mike Duncker, Tony Zabaneh and Zaid Flores, to discuss the way forward.