National Gas Company is Color Blind – PM Barrow
Dean Barrow
According to Prime Minister Dean Barrow, the idea of forming a public/private partnership goes beyond party lines since a majority of those who make up the board, as well as other stakeholders are affluent members of the People’s United Party. The purpose of this agreement, he says, is to ensure that the price of butane is reduced and that the existing strangle hold on the market is done away with.
Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
“We were color blind because in fact the idea is for this National Gas Company to do precisely what it is that the member for Lake-I wishes to get a guarantee for. You talk about it’s being a monopoly, it will have the monopoly in terms of the importation, but how is that not better than the current situation where there is an oligopoly and where basically it is one Mexican common denominator that owns all the principal retailers or certainly the wholesalers. So we are in hoc to a Mexican concern. This will ensure that it is a Belizean concern, a public private company that will have the exclusive in terms of the importation. We, the government, whichever government will be on the board to ensure that in fact it is brought in in a way that will see that what is happening to us now where the Mexicans all get together and basically, it’s one common ownership you know, whether dehn name Z, whether dehn name BWEL, whatever, and they hold us to ransom. They come and they say this is the price you will allow us to charge, otherwise we wahn stop importing the gas. So this, if it does nothing else takes us out of that stranglehold that these foreigners have, on not just government, on the people of this country. And absolutely, with this National Gas Company, you will see a lowering of prices to the consumer. If you want to get political, it is controlled by principals, huge personalities of the People’s United Party. We have looked well past color because we think it is in the national interest, in the interest of the consumers.”
