PM says negotiations continue with counter proposals
Dean Barrow
The government’s two counter proposals, one which includes a haircut of thirty-three percent and an interest rate of four point five percent that would increase to six point seven-five percent after five years. The second proposal had no haircut but lower interest rates over forty years along with a grace period of ten years on principal repayments. These counter measures follow the lapse of a sixty day extension agreed to by bondholders following a partial payment of eleven point seven million U.S. dollars made in September. The PM told News Five that he expects the negotiations to continue without bondholders seeking legal redress.
Jose Sanchez
“Are any of the two proposals, whether it be longer years or lesser interest in the stepped up percentages closer to what you would be able to tweak? Which one is in the government’s best interest of the two proposals you counter offered with?”
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
“Well, basically the two proposals, in the end, will give you the same result. It’s just a different methodology, a different route of arriving at the quantum of relief that you wish. For me, I would prefer the scenario that contemplates an actual principal reduction simply because, as a headline grabber, I suspect that would be more appealing to Belizean public and would be more easily understood. But ultimately, it’s the same result and so I don’t know that in a serious negotiation, we would insist on one or the other.”
Jose Sanchez
And there has been no discussion, being that the deadline has passed, whether or not the bondholders would seek legal recourse?”
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
“No, not at all. That’s always open to them but we don’t have any sense that we’ve reached that point; not at all. We believe that the doors are firmly open, while we’ve said that we don’t want to have the face to face meeting on the basis of your counter proposal and so before we can do that, let us give you what we sent you and have you come back. It is not to be interpreted as us saying, no man we’re slamming the door shut even if it’s for the next two weeks. No, there is no question but that there is, I think an understanding on both sides that this thing will require this sort of one step forward, one step backward, tacking to the side before we can arrive at a position where there will be mutual agreement.”
Things could probably progress better with face to face meetings, where things can move fluidly.
They could progress better if we had an experienced negotiating team, too. I am afraid the PM has shot his credibility — and ours, as a nation — by talking first and thinking later. He’s not trying to fool a jury or judge here, he’s trying to fool canny businessmen who know more about what they are doing than he does.
Barrow is as obdurate as a pregnant mule which kills itself because it doesn’t want to eat the only hay available to eat. But again, Barrow is only playing the only role that was dealt to the Barrows -that of poverty and bogus arrogance. In Belize we say he can’t stand success even when success is thrown at his feet. Can’t Barrow understand the economic needs of Belizeans ? Seriously, Barrow is that stupid that he has destroyed the economy of Belize every time he ascends to governing the country. Barrow surrounds himself with intellectual inferiors and no viable economic policies and decisions will ever emanate from that quarter. Yes, my fellow Belizeans, it is truly another sad day in our unfortunate servile history. And sadly there is no way that Barrow can dig us out of this economic quagmire because he doesn’t have the smarts, what it takes to pass the muster. He has failed the acid test of leadership time and time again and the country suffers incalculably in the sense that our resources are not put to their most efficient use. I hope Barrow is not such a beast that has no remorse of conscience to see such suffering around him and which he has caused.