D.O.E. has Luke Espat in court

Speaking of Belize Ports Limited, the prime mover behind that company, Luke Espat, is having a busy week. In addition to salvaging the Carnival deal, Espat has had to defend an action brought by the Department of the Environment in Magistrate’s Court. The case involves another of the businessman’s companies, Belize Crocodile and Reptile Dealers Limited, which, according to the D.O.E., has “failed to carry out an environmental impact assessment” for a project near Biscayne Village that is currently in the land clearing stage. The defence is claiming that this is the first time the Department has ever initiated a prosecution for this offence and it is claiming that the legal initiative is a “personal vendetta executed by the Chief Environmental Officer.” On Monday, Espat’s attorney, Kareem Musa, made a no case submission based on the assertion that what the company did on its own land is something it–and every Belizean–has the right to do. That ruling is expected later in the week.