B.S.I. Amends Purchasing Agreement, Sans Contentious Clause

On Friday, we reported that the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association had refused to endorse a purchasing agreement with Belize Sugar Industries Limited under the premise that B.S.I. had introduced articles which were outside of the extent of the initial agreement.  While B.S.I. has since argued the point that as purchaser the company reserves the right to reject cane, it maintains that the clause was prominent in its revised draft agreement which was previously sent to the B.S.C.F.A.   According to B.S.I.’s financial controller Belizario Carballo, that section has since been removed from the agreement following harsh criticisms from both the National Trade Union Congress of Belize and government.  Carballo told the media this morning that notwithstanding the exclusion of the passage, G.O.B. and the N.T.U.C.B. have both been misinformed.

Belizario Carballo, Financial Controller, B.S.I.

“What we have done over the weekend because of the objection of the B.S.C.F.A. is that we have removed that sentence in that clause that was in, a way, the offending sentence that, in a way, we sought to retain the right whilst prepared to, in practice, have it exercised by another entity.  We have simply removed that sentence that retains that right for B.S.I.”

Reporter

“Well then why would the government which is intimately familiar with these negotiations, why would it say ASR/B.S.I. must be equally reprimanded for their bad faith in having tried to undermine the SCPC?”

Belizario Carballo

Belizario Carballo

“We, to be honest with you, we are very aggrieved about that statement.  We feel it is a reaction to the N.T.U.C.B.’s statement that was based on a misinformation.  They acted to, in a way, counter that statement of the N.T.U.C.B. but at the same time put us in the same basket as the N.T.U.C.B. and sought to condemn us for something that was said by the N.T.U.C.B. which had, as I said, was misinformation.  …We have not sought at anytime to undermine the SCPC.  This statement of undermining the SCPC comes and arises from certain statements that were aired and was documented in the N.T.U.C.B.’s press release that said that B.S.I. had sought to introduce a new entity that would operate as we would want it to operate which would then undermine the role of the SCPC.  That entity, they mentioned it in their press statement, is the Harvest and Delivery Control Unit.  That unit, as I explained earlier, was something that was initially introduced that was discussed with the B.S.C.F.A., that was rejected by them and in a subsequent draft that concept had been dropped and the SCPC had been reintroduced in their traditional role of operating, harvesting and delivery.  So for some entity who, to be intimately involved in the process, that would have been known.  And so, for that reason, we are saying that they acted on the misinformation that was contained in the N.T.U.C.B.’s press release and sought to condemn us and we find it particularly unhelpful in condemning one of the parties that is engaged in a very delicate and complicated and difficult negotiation trying to reach an agreement, go out and seek to condemn it.  We find it very unhelpful to a process that had in fact been advanced by the intervention of the prime minister.”