G.O.B. says “secret agreement,” but Financial Secretary Joe Waight signature on document
Prime Minister Dean Barrow came out blazing last week, accusing former Prime Minister Said Musa and former Attorney-General Francis Fonseca of signing a secret agreement with Belize International Services Limited, the company which operated the International Business Companies Registry and the International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize. The agreement in question extends BISL’s management contract to 2020, and since government has already appropriated control of the registries and faces serious legal challenges in the near future, the Prime Minister went all out to express how ‘secret’ and thus invalid and illegal, the extension contract was.
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
Dean Barrow
“Nobody was aware of the existence of that “agreement” of twenty-fourth March 2005 that Musa and Francis Fonseca signed. I have checked through directly in one case and through a third party in another with persons who were members of the cabinet on twenty-fourth March 2005 and they were quite clear that that agreement was never brought to the cabinet, was never disclosed to the cabinet. Because as well, no official, neither Ghandi or the financial secretary or anybody else in the public services was ever made aware of that letter…”
News Five has shown evidence which directly contradicts the Prime Minister’s statement – in black and white. Here it is again…a letter signed by Joseph Waight for Financial Secretary in 2005 directing the deposit of one point five million to government. And Waight expressly states that the money is for the extension of the contract between BISL and government until 2020. And more than that, government’s legal counsel Gian Gandhi is copied in the letter. That’s pertinent because the Ministry of Finance has gone on a ‘secret-document’ offensive again. 
It sent out a release today refuting claims by Fonseca that the matter was discussed in Cabinet. And as evidence of that they claim that legal counsel Gian Gandhi’s advise was not sought and that the first time he saw the letter was last month. The release states that Gandhi has also gone through Cabinet briefing notes and has not found any record of that discussion. Interestingly enough, the release makes no mention of Financial Secretary Joseph Waight, who signed the document and whose name had been used last week as evidence that the agreement was secret. After the document was shown with Waight’s signature, P.M. Barrow stated on national television that Waight must have suffered a memory lapse. But as far as Gandhi goes, it would be unheard of that the government’s legal counsel did not see of the contract.
thanks for belize’s account # at the us fed…!!
did you just publish belize’s account @ the Fed?
if it was copied to Mr. Ghandi, it does not necessarily means that the legal counsel received it…it could be copied to the media outlets but it doesn’t means that it was sent…all legal technicalities…but am not sure why all special treatment by the PUP administration…not taxed…no kind of control or assessment…let Fonseca and Musa explained also….both are the two faces of the same coin..
This is just another sham so that this pm and his family and friends can make more money who wants to bet that any legal proceedings will go to barrows law firm or one of his family members just watch and see the corruption of this pm and gov. Is overwhelming they are now committing crimes against the people and country of Belize . if you belizeans do not wake up you will be living in haities soon we are now worse than Cuba . What about the babies that were killed by the incompetence of this pm and gov. What about the man in charge who doesn’t give a damm about the death of all these children and a pm who doesn’t care and is in collusion with all these murders no one has even been charged 12 dead babies and no one has been charged to me this is astonishing sickening and down righ deplorable.
How many more secret agreements are out there? Maybe we should start be reviewing the Bowen & Bowen group of companies tax exemption status.
@ belizebelize.. I do appreciate your reasonable critique. We need more of those around here
@Belizebelize, if Fin Sec knew then it wasn’t secret period, and he signed it so he obviously knew (Ghandi or no Ghandi).
What special treatment? GOB got 40 cents of every dollar collected by Immarbe…its called revenue sharing instead of tax that’s all. Maybe that’s why the UDP didn’t change it between 1993 and 1998. Don’t be so gullible….this looks like a distraction to me. And nowhere near level of 13 babies dead while minister of health is being praised for winning village council elections.
I wonder why nobody neva ask who signs the fishing license for the EU ships? I am sure Fisheries Dept. has something fu do. Channel 5 please who issue the licenses to the black list ships.
I agree with Rod. Barrow caught lying. Plain and simple. The UDPs opposed Musa not because he was a crook. Clearly, Barrow is as big a crook as Musa was. Yet he gets a free pass to make his family and friends and himself rich. If u want to know why he gets a pass, just put them side by side and tell me the difference between the two. Plain and simple. Let’s stop bsing ourselves on this. We have two Belize’s: Belize City UDP vs the rest of the country PUP. Simple as that. Many people opposed the previous PUP govt because of corruption. Corruption is now rampant and where is the outcry? Just told u why there is no outcry.