Restructured bond means no payment to former owners of utility companies
Dean Barrow
No press conference held by Prime Minister Dean Barrow on any matter related to the economy would be complete without an attack on Lord Michael Ashcroft. The Prime Minister on Wednesday announced the terms of the restructured debt of the Belize bond 2038 and again Ashcroft’s name came up. According to the PM the restructured debt includes a clause that states that no compensation can be paid to contingent liabilities, in this case the disputed owners of utilities B.T.L. and B.E.L., on terms more favorable than those reached with bondholders. According to the Prime Minister, the sentiment from those contingent liabilities is that the deal hinders the ability of government to reach any sort of open-ended settlement, so he would not be surprised by some sort of legal action before the actual signing off of the restructured which is expected to take place by Monday. Only time will prove or disprove that forecast, but the Prime Minister wasted no time in setting off on his tried and true anti-Ashcroft spiel just in case.
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
“There are these awards that he got, separate and apart from compensation. Remember he got an arbitration award with respect to what he said was a breach of the accommodation agreement, which he then assigned to a company called BSDL. They’re trying to enforce that in the States. I have said publicly and I repeat – I will never voluntarily pay anything in respect of the accommodation agreement, so there can be no settlement where that is concerned. There’s also the other award that he got that he brought to Belize with respect to the settlement deed that the last government signed giving Belize Bank all these tax concessions that we revoked. He got an award where that is concerned. The Supreme Court in Belize, Muria said it was enforceable. We went to the Court of Appeal and the Court of Appeal said it’s not enforceable. That is now with the Caribbean Court of Justice. And then most recently he got another award with respect to Universal, to the secret guarantee. I have to confess that I have some sympathy with respect to that award because that was money advanced by the bank to the last government for their cronies at Universal but still the bank is out of pocket.”
Prime Minister Barrow said that in the final draft of the restructured bond, contingent liability holders were brought in, but only if a settlement can be made with them in the amount of seventy-five million US dollars or less.
Here comes this nitwit again talking nonsense about ” I will never voluntarily pay…..” What is he suggesting? that he sometimes pays? and that he is doing us a favor by defying the former owners? B.S, B.S, and more unmitigated B.S.! Barrow don’t pay squat!!! It’s the people of Belize who have to foot the bills to pay his ex-wife and now his brother’s legal fees to the tune of millions!!! All for a case that he knows is unwinnable and in which we’ll still have to pay the former owners! So keep in mind that everytime you see him on the news spewing defiance like a spoiled brat, trying to make it seem like he is doing it in the best interest of Belize, just think, is it really that ? or is it so his family can continue to rake in millions of our taxes!
….and if you think the ex-wife was raking it in, you should hear the rates Brother B is allegedly charging us! It is reportedly wayyyyy higher than rates you get even from an international lawyer!! think about that one for a minute! Hypothetically, Brother B could go to the local court to submit an argument on behalf of the Government of Belize, and for those few hours work, he may be paid at rates that are higher than if we had hired, say, a US lawyer to represent us in a lawsuit in Miami or L.A or New York!!!!
This is the cost of D.O.B’s calculated arrogance!!!!
In short this means more money for the government Crony Lawyers to fight Ashcroft when they go back to court.
Also less foreign investors who will be willing to bring money and jobs to Belize and risk losing it all.