Briceño, during the press conference, also broke down the arbitration award into annual payments, calculating the figure retroactively to the 2009 nationalization of the utility company. John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader “They have explained that they will borrow, but they have failed to explain how we will pay. They have said that they can borrow […]
On July twelfth, ten working days after the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration was handed down, G.O.B. will need to make a payment of about one hundred and ninety-five million dollars to the Ashcroft Group. That’s only half of what G.O.B. must pay for its acquisition of Belize Telemedia Limited in 2009; the […]
The Prime Minister has vilified the Accommodation Agreement signed between B.T.L. and the P.U.P. administration of 2005. In fact, it’s been a main platform of every government campaign since 2008. But Courtenay says that propaganda aside, the incredible thing is that G.O.B. has never once challenged the validity of the agreement in Court and that’s […]
At his press conference last week, Prime Minister Barrow claimed sweet victory and vindication on one particular point of the settlement – a claim that G.O.B. will have total access to sixty percent of the entire award, the portion paid for the Accommodation Agreement. According to the P.M., that money will be used to pay […]
So with all that said, can Courtenay himself be criticized for coming out so strongly against the settlement when he was one of the lead attorneys in the protracted litigation? He told us that he’s been accused of worse things and has no apology to make. Eamon Courtenay, Senator, People’s United Party “Nobody is […]
The Belize Progressive Party has issued a stern release condemning the Barrow Administration for announcing its plan to amend the existing Referendum Act. A revision of that piece of legislation is widely viewed as sort of a quid pro quo should Guatemala ease tensions in the Sarstoon. B.P.P. contends that prior to any referendum on […]
The arbitration award will continue to dominate conversations for the next little while, perhaps escalating even, as people begin to recognize the enormity of a four hundred million dollar debt, two hundred million of which must be paid within a week. The total cost for the acquisition of B.T.L. is actually five hundred and fifty […]
Apart from claiming that the half-a billion dollar payout for B.T.L. is a deal and a victory, the Prime Minister has gone on record to say that they will not have a difficulty making the first payment of two hundred million dollars. According to Briceño, the P.M. may not have a difficulty making that payment, […]
And then there’s the man who is walking away with the half a billion dollar payout. Lord Ashcroft has been a messiah and a pariah, a friend and a fiend depending on political timing and political convenience. Still, he’s allegedly been a player in every recent election – on one side or the other or […]
The Sarstoon River remains a question mark. There are no official rules of engagement or protocols. As far as News Five has proven, civilians cannot go in there. We’ve been stopped by armed Guatemalan soldiers every time we’ve tried. There’s a timeline of sorts for a compromise of sorts, tentatively the end of the year. […]
Following Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s presentation and spin of the Arbitration Award for B.T.L. on Wednesday, the Opposition issued a release entitled the Cost of Barrow’s Arrogance. Government will be coughing up close to half of a billion dollars when all is paid to Dunkeld International and Sunshine Holdings. As you can well imagine, the […]
And while he claims things are going downhill at the utility company, Briceño says it’s going to get much worse since apparently B.T.L. will be made to take on the ninety-seven million dollar BCB Holdings settlement, or at least a significant portion of it. On Wednesday, P.M. Barrow admitted that the liability is for the […]
In our previous newscast, we brought you the basics of the Arbitration Award presented by Government – as a victory and as vindication. To recap – the total award, including share value and interest, was a little over four hundred and fifty million dollars. Subtract the sixty-five million paid by G.O.B. in 2015 when the […]
The assertion by government that payment of at least the first two hundred million due in days will be pretty much a piece of cake is no consolation to P.U.P. Deputy Leader Julius Espat – far from it. Julius Espat, P.U.P. Deputy Leader, West “I was doing some calculations this morning and if the […]
B.T.L. was appropriated in 2009, and the approximately two hundred million dollars in interest alone is the result of there being no settlement of the matter until the arbitration panel’s decision days ago. But was it really necessary for the matter to be dragged out seven years? Could there have been some sort of settlement […]
Briceño disagrees, vehemently, stating that only the previous owners and the Barrows have benefitted from the appropriation of B.T.L. and from the PM dragging the matter out for seven long years. John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader “I can vividly recall these words that the Prime Minister so eloquently spoke at his press conference of September […]
But is it a cross between an outright lie and a crude attempt to put lipstick on the proverbial muddy pig? P.U.P. Leader John Briceño says the PM is speaking nonsense and misleading Belizeans. John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader “What the Prime Minister is saying is once again completely misleading and untrue. Sixty percent of […]
Does P.U.P. Leader John Briceño have the moral authority to speak about the arbitration award? That was the question put to him by a reporter today at the press conference. So does he? Reporter “SpeedNet – it’s a company your family owns and it’s a company that’s mentioned also in the accommodation agreement. I […]
The Prime Minister appears to be deeply impressed with the four hundred million dollar arbitration award, but the P.U.P. is not. In a release issued late this evening the Party claimed that it is appalled by the final figures released which they say are worse than even they expected. According to the release, “Including the […]
Following talks in Washington between Belize and Guatemala on Tuesday, there’s been no clear sense that progress has really been made in resolving the conflict in the Sarstoon. Certainly there is no agreement on paper, no draft proposals or protocols and no clear-cut timeline. The Opposition seized on the recurring uncertainty following G.O.B.’s every diplomatic […]
Last week the P.U.P. announced that it would be withdrawing its representative from the talks with Guatemala. That move is designed to send a clear message that the P.U.P. believes that the negotiations status quo has got to go. Senator Eamon Courtenay told News Five that for the Opposition it’s anything but a game, and […]
As we showed you in our newscast, G.O.B. has orchestrated a hurried divesting of shares to raise cash and the Opposition seized on it to reiterate that the Barrow administration is broke. P.U.P. Leader John Briceño says it’s clear for anyone to see, and they can start by taking a look at the productive sector. […]
And of course there is the IMF report which was less that complimentary in reference to the status of the economy and G.O.B.’s performance. Briceño says he takes no pleasure in the country’s pain, but there are dark days ahead when the recommendations made by the IMF could very well be forced into play to […]
Village Council elections are going into their fourth week, but strangely enough there’s been no real hype. Normally, by this time, both major political parties would have been claiming overwhelming victory in a majority of villages across the country. For the P.U.P., these elections are important because there has been a change of leader and […]
The Rainbow Flag has been hoisted at the U.S. Embassy in Belmopan and responses have been flooding in. Members of the LGBT community and supporters claim that it is a great day for Belize. Members of various churches and anti-gay activists call it an abomination and threaten fire and brimstone. Other more objective, less judgmental […]
