A.C.B. back in court over loan guarantee of U.H.S.

We have not heard much from them since the change of government in February, and today in the court of Justice Minnet Hafiz, the case brought by the Association of Concerned Belizeans against the government continued. This morning Attorney Lois Young, representing A.C.B., the Medical and Dental Union, Senator Godwin Hulse and the N.T.U.C.B., argued that former prime minister Said Musa acted unlawfully when he guaranteed a loan for Universal Health Services because he did not consult with Cabinet and did not allow the guarantee to be put to the House of Representatives and the Senate for approval. Young further contended that the decision to pay off the debt to the Belize Bank was also unlawful because they were done under the same illegal circumstances. On Tuesday, bank attorneys Nigel Pleming and Andrew Marshalleck, made submissions that under the constitution, the P.M. and his Attorney General are allowed to enter into such contracts. And as for the limitations of the Finance and Audit Act, they interpret it to mean that the House need only approve the repayment of loans over ten million, not their signing. The hearing was adjourned until the second week in November.