Tourism Minister’s practices don’t follow policies
The Belize Tourism Board today hosted the nation’s first ever Tourism Summit. The well attended meeting featured a strong roster of international speakers who focussed on such issues as the importance of branding, air travel capacity, controlling the cruise industry, and the question of growth versus protection of the environment. On that issue News Five’s Stewart Krohn asked Tourism Minister Godfrey Smith why his government’s policies did not always agree with its practices.
Stewart Krohn
“In your address this morning, you emphatically stated that the road Belize started to go down some twenty odd years ago, namely ecotourism, is still the road that we ought to follow. Yet, how do you reconcile that commitment with your Belize Times column of two weeks ago when you gave an unqualified, unabashed support for one of the most controversial tourism projects now on the drawing board, the Ara Macao project in Placencia? How can you reconcile that?
Godfrey Smith, Minister of Tourism
“First of all, I think it’s important to understand that Flashpoint obviously is a provocative column. But I do not shy away from the fact that I support the project assuming that it will be properly regulated, assuming that all the things set out in the environmental compliance plan will be dealt with and supervised. I have travelled, as you have, in the Caribbean, in other places of the world—Belize is considerable bigger than many those places, we have a considerable advantage in having, I believe close to thirty percent of our national area under protected areas. It is my view, an unabashed view, that there is room in Belize for some big developments. I am not saying that we’re going to open the floodgates and let them all in, but we are big enough to accommodate it. I have been to—there’s so many small islands—Nevis, Barbados—with huge developments. I am not saying that is where we want to end up, but there is room for some and it should be balanced and developed.”
Stewart Krohn
“Minister, how do you reconcile a hundred thousand square foot casino with ecotourism?”
Godfrey Smith
“I have no idea about a casino.”
Stewart Krohn
“You have no idea of about a casino for Ara Macao?”
Godfrey Smith
“I don’t know about a casino.”
Stewart Krohn
“Well then how could you write a whole column in support of Ara Macao when one of the main things in the whole plan is a hundred thousand square foot casino?”
Godfrey Smith
“Stewart I don’t intend to be argumentative over the fact. I’ve stated my policy and philosophical position in relation to the project; I don’t intend to get into the technicalities of it. You have asked me a fair, a fair and fundamental question. I am a policy maker and I believe there is room for accommodation of both nature-based ecotourism-based products, as well as some larger developments, as a matter of policy.”
Stewart Krohn
“Minister, in that same Flashpoint column, you conduct an interview with Mr. Paul Goguen, the man behind the project. In that interview, he states that he has spent twenty-two million dollars on his project. This is regardless of the fact that there is not one thing on the ground to show for the supposed twenty-two million dollars. Do you believe that they have spent twenty-two million dollars on the project?”
Godfrey Smith
“That is an interview Stewart. Whether I believe it or not is immaterial. You yourself are involved in land development. You know that before buildings start to rise, to buy land to begin with—because government didn’t give them any land—they bought the land at considerable and substantial price, as I understand it; doing E.I.A.’s have become a costly thing; getting international experts to do them and local experts is an expensive venture; doing engineering designs is an expensive venture; doing the campaign to build up support; everything costs money. I don’t know if the figure was accurate, it’s just an interview to get…”
Stewart Krohn
“So the truth of what you put in your column is less important than to throw it out there…”
Godfrey Smith
“Stewart, it was an interview. I asked the questions and the man did the talking. There is room for debate, as has already begun on the matter.”
One area where we do know that Ara Macao did spend lavishly was on contributions to advance the interests of incumbent politicians, in particular the HANDS Foundation controlled by Stann Creek West Representative Rodwell Ferguson.
