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PARAMARIBO —De Belastingdienst is een project gestart met het doel belastingplichtigen te stimuleren aan hun aangifte- en betalingsplicht te voldoen.
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The payment to the Ashcroft Alliance’s BISL for BZD 76.5 million dollars will go to the Senate for final approval; Prime Minister Briceño said this payment ends all legal claims related to the matter
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Aug. 25, 2022
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a Supplementary Appropriation Bill, for the allocation of an additional BZD $76.5 million to cover the cost of the settlement agreement reached between the Government of Belize and the Ashcroft Alliance’s Belize International Services Limited (BISL), following what BISL claimed was an unlawful termination of its contract to operate the two registries in the country—the International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize (IMMARBE) and the International Business Companies Registry (IBCR). The bill was approved in the House with little resistance from the Opposition and will now be sent to the Senate to be rubber-stamped before payment is made to Waterloo Investments Holdings and Morgan y Morgan (a Panamanian law firm), the two former owners of the registries operated under BISL.
The PM, in explaining the reasons for the payout, said that the debt, to which up to $17,000 in interest is added daily, would balloon in size if not settled; and he further noted that this settlement, which is a little more than half of the amount initially demanded, will end the claim definitively and thus remove another legal claim that has been looming over the Belizean public.
“The claim was for over 65 million US dollars or 130 million Belize dollars. The BISL claim, I must stress, grows every day, with daily interest depending on the eventual core compensation of between BZ$4,000-$17,000 a day, and so after the proposed settlement, government will still net US48,615,000,789. Simply put, government pays this now so that it can avoid paying a whole lot more at some time in the future,” PM Briceño said.
PM Briceño then pointed to the action which prompted the litigation that resulted in the claim—a decision by the Barrow administration to take over the two registries managed by BISL. By doing so, Barrow brought an end to a contract with BISL that had been extended by a former PUP administration—an act by Barrow that BISL claimed was wrongful. That contract was first granted in 1993, but in 2003 was extended—allowing the company to continue managing the registries until 2013. However, two years later, in 2005, they were given a subsequent extension to operate from 2013 to 2020. It was an extension that the Barrow administration considered unlawful, and in 2013, it took control of the registries. The company then filed a claim on March 26, 2015, against the government for damages caused by a breach of the contract, but both the country’s Supreme Court and Appeals Court ruled in favor of the government. The company, however, pursued litigation all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice, which ruled in favor of the company and ordered the Supreme Court to determine a quantum.
At the House of Representatives meeting on Wednesday, however, the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Moses “Shyne” Barrow, asserted that the 2005 agreement was done under the table and was illegal.
“What the Prime Minister did not mention is that no one knew about the 15-year extension that then Prime Minister Musa gave to BISL. I don’t even think the Cabinet at the time knew about the secret agreement,” Barrow claimed.
Another member of the Opposition, Albert area representative, Hon. Tracy Panton, questioned how the government has been able to allocate sufficient funds to clear this legal claim but postponed the marijuana legalization referendum because of its estimated 5-million-dollar price tag.
“In one payment we can settle a 38.5 million US dollars, 76 million dollars [Belize] on the backs of the Belizeans. Wasn’t it just the last House meeting when the government coerced the churches to say we will put a hold on the referendum on marijuana because we can’t be afforded the $5 million? But yet, Mr. Speaker, we can find 76 million dollars to meet this debt obligation in one payment, not through a payment plan, not in installments, that would be less burdensome for the Belizean people—in one payment,” Panton said.
When interviewed by reporters after the House meeting, the Prime Minister reiterated that the payment of the settlement would be final, and he pledged, in the spirit of transparency, to share all the documentation related to the settlement with the public.
“The point that I would like to make is that the $38.25 million US, of which 11.5 million is going to be paid in Belize dollars, is final. That’s it. We won’t owe them anything. They are not going to come later and say, ‘Oh, you owe me court fees or lawyer fees’—nothing; we will settle there. From our end, we have not received the bills from Dr. Ben Rossovich, Senior Queen Counsel, and also from Hallmark Advisory. From what I understand, and I need to get more clarity, I don’t think we’re going to get a bill from them. They just want it to help to settle this, did this issue and felt that it was, you know, we just had to do trying to save money for the Belize people,” Prime Minister Briceño commented.
Current Minister of Foreign Affairs and Lead Senator for Government Business, Hon. Eamon Courtenay, was one of the lawyers representing BISL in its claim against the government of Belize prior to the 2020 general elections. His law firm, Courtenay Coye LLP, which is also part-owned by Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Hon. Chris Coye, is expected to collect a hefty sum for their work representing the Ashcroft Alliance in this case. The PM, in an interview yesterday, said that Courtenay recused himself from the Cabinet meeting at which the matter was discussed, and had nothing to do with the settlement agreement reached between the Government and BISL.
“What I can tell you, Courtenay and Coye did not participate in the settlement. They participated in going to court up to 2020, but since [they] have come into the office they have had no participation on this, and Minister Courtenay walked out at mid-day before this issue came up to Cabinet, and Minister Coye was out of the country with his family,” PM Briceño said.
Notably, during the discussion of the supplementary appropriation at the House of Representatives meeting on Wednesday, Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Technology, Hon. Francis Fonseca, pointed to the need for Belize to adhere to the rule of law.
“This settlement requires each of us to ask one fundamental question: are we as a nation committed to the rule of law? Are we a nation of laws? Or are we a rogue nation? That’s the fundamental question. Are we a rogue country that thumbs its nose at the highest court in our jurisdiction, the Caribbean Court of Justice? That really is the only question before us today,” stated Fonseca.One such judgment handed down by the CCJ which met resistance from the Belize government at the time (the Barrow administration) was the Universal Health Services (USH) judgment order— an order to pay the Belize Bank compensation for a guarantee provided by the Musa administration for a loan received by private investors in the Universal Health Services (UHS) hospital. There had been allegations of illegality and ethical violations surrounding that deal prior to the CCJ ruling however—with reports that a grant of over $20 million from Venezuela to fund the construction of houses (in addition to another $20 million granted by Taiwan) was diverted to the bank by the Musa administration, as payment to settle the claim, without National Assembly approval. In 2008, Prime Minister Barrow told the public, “… There is the written agreement that made it absolutely plain that this was an international agreement committing the government of Belize to use these funds for the specified purposes. $9 million was for use in home improvement loans and the other ten million, which Amalai Mai instructed the Venezuelans to send to an account in the UK held in the name of the Belize Bank, was for use in new home construction. The confirmation note sent by the relevant Venezuelan agency, BANDES is the Spanish acronym, to the Belize Bank with respect to the fact that the $10 million had been wired, had clearly on the face of it wording that said that this was in connection with the disbursement being made to the government of Belize for use in housing construction…” (7News transcript—March 2008)
He then went on to state, “… the enormity of what has been done is compounded by this fact: forty million dollars gifted to us by Venezuela and Taiwan was paid over to the Belize Bank. We did not end up owning the hospital, notwithstanding that $40 million was paid. That money was then, as we understand it, deposited in the name of a charitable trust registered in Nevis but operating at a Turks and Caicos Belize Bank account.” An AMANDALA article in May 2009 had said that Musa at one point was “facing a charge of theft in relation to the payment of … US$10 million—the grant coming from the Government of Venezuela to Belize, billed for housing for the poor—to pay the UHS debt” to the Belize Bank.
And thus it was that, after the CCJ subsequently issued a judgment which ordered the then Barrow administration to settle the Belize Bank’s claim, that administration refused to comply. Parliament at the time voted against a supplementary bill that was tabled to cover the debt, which former Prime Minister, Dean Barrow, referred to as “immoral.”
The Belize Bank, owned by a subsidiary of Waterloo Investment Holdings Limited, took the case in 2019 to the Supreme Court and was given leave to use unpaid business tax to recover the sums from the claim. There is no indication if a firm agreement was reached between the government and the bank to finally determine a settlement for that debt, and there is no indication if the sum owed by the government, a total of 95 million dollars at the time it was quantified, is still growing. A timeline is not set for when Belize Bank will stop using funds that should be allocated for business tax to settle the UHS claim.
During yesterday’s interview, the PM spoke briefly on the matter, and claimed that it had already been settled. “That has already been negotiated. That has already been settled, and they are using the tax monies to be able to pay themselves, but no, they have not come to us and said, ‘mek we work out something, make we discount and pay it off’. No, they have not come to us with something like that.”
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Just one day after government announced that an agreement was reached to settle a claim brought by Waterloo Investments Holdings’ BISL, a January 2022 letter from Waterloo’s chairman, Lord Michael Ashcroft, in which he threatens legal action for a supposed breach of a UK-Belize treaty for the Promotion and Protection of Investments, was leaked. It appears to be a more aggressive tactic aimed at wresting approval of Waterloo’s proposed cruise terminal from GoB, and has entered the public domain just days before the scheduled public consultation on the new ESIA for the project takes place.
by Marco Lopez
BELIZE CITY, Wed. Aug. 24, 2022
While Waterloo Investment Holdings has been publicizing its submission of an updated Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for its proposed cruise terminal at the Port of Belize Ltd. and has been touting a public consultation on the proposal that is to be carried out on Thursday, September 1, 2022 at the Biltmore Plaza in Belize City, it seems that the company has been taking another, more aggressive approach behind the scenes—one that appears to be based on threats. Those threats hint at the economic pain that a Lord Ashcroft-financed legal team could cause the country through another lawsuit if Waterloo’s most recent multi-million-dollar enterprise in the country is not approved. Specifically, what has been leaked is a letter penned by the chairman of Waterloo, Lord Michael Ashcroft, who in that letter, threatened legal action against the Government of Belize if the Promotion and Protection of Investments 1982 agreement between the UK and Belize was not upheld by the government.
The letter was sent in January, following the rejection of the company’s first EIA by the National Environmental Appraisal Committee (NEAC) and Department of the Environment (DOE) late last year—a decision that had prompted the company to both lodge an appeal and to make accusations, of supposed solicitation of bribes by members of the NEAC—allegations that it never provided any further details about, even after being prodded by the Minister of Sustainable Development, Hon. Orlando Habet, to do so. And thus, the Ministry’s attempt to investigate Waterloo’s claim that “the NEAC recommendation accepted by the DOE … came following Waterloo’s refusal to pay bribes to certain NEAC members in exchange of ‘assisting’ Waterloo in answering NEAC’s question in the environmental screen process” stalled—because Waterloo made no attempt to substantiate the claims.
The letter sent by Lord Ashcroft nonetheless admonishes the government for the rejection of the first submission for environmental clearance tabled by Waterloo. Ashcroft’s letter stated that he and the UK shareholders of Waterloo are entitled to compensation under the Promotion and Protection of Investments 1982 agreement between Belize and the UK, since they have already invested upward of 5 million dollars in the project.
The letter finally invited GoB to “amicably settle the above dispute” within three months from the date of the letter or “the investors will be entitled to submit this dispute to international arbitration.”
This is not the first time that Ashcroft has used the UK-Belize treaty as a basis for seeking millions of dollars of compensation from GoB. A December 2009 AMANDALA article entitled, “Ashcroft’s attorneys invoke UK-Belize treaty to claim +$200 million,” reported that, in 2009. “By way of formal notice to Prime Minister Dean Barrow and Attorney General Wilfred Elrington, Dunkeld International Investment Limited (a Turks and Caicos company affiliated with British tycoon Michael Ashcroft) … indicated that it [was] invoking foreign arbitration for damages and losses of at least BZ$200 million and up to $400 million, following the nationalization of Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) in August. The notice of arbitration makes reference to a treaty Belize signed with the UK back in 1982, with a 1985 amendment signed by Barrow, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, extending the treaty to the British territory of the Turks and Caicos.”
The letter sent by Ashcroft in reference to his most recent proposed venture—the Waterloo cruise port—was sent to the Prime Minister, Hon. John Briceño, in January of this year, as mentioned, and all indications point to steps being made to avoid yet another bout of litigation with the Ashcroft Alliance—with Waterloo’s appeal being heard, and a new ESIA being submitted to the DOE for review and being uploaded on their website. Waterloo is now knee-deep in a process to seek approval of its project, and a positive assessment of that project’s environmental and social impact—with public consultation scheduled for next week.
But the letter sent by Lord Ashcroft was issued before any final determination was made about the environmental impact of the project. And it also made no mention of the still-ongoing assessment of the social impact of the project. Neither does it acknowledge the gravity of any of the other considerations that would impact any decision by GoB—including the approval already given to two other cruise terminal projects (Stake Bank’s Port Coral and Portico Enterprise’s Port of Magical Belize) which would be operating, along with any proposed Waterloo port, within a small geographical area (an 8-mile radius) in the Belize District. What is seemingly suggested in the letter is that none of that matters—that perhaps the sheer fact that a UK investor is desirous of building a port obliges the government to issue an approval or risk violating this investment treaty. Questions have thus surfaced about what exactly are the terms of such a treaty—and whether it requires a country to disregard any environmental harm or social harm that could be caused in order to ensure compliance. Some in the public are wondering how Lord Ashcroft could be requesting payback for money he spent of his own volition to develop a project, the approval of which was never guaranteed. There is, in fact, an even more gnawing question in many Belizeans’ minds: were any assurances given to the Waterloo investor, either by this current administration, or the previous one?
The threat of litigation in the letter is real, and is particularly haunting because of the timing of the leak—just a day after the announcement that GoB would be paying Waterloo’s Belize International Services Limited (BISL) approximately $77 million dollars ($38.5 million US) after the company took its claim against the government of Belize through all the courts in the judicial system before getting a judgment in its favor at the Caribbean Court of Justice.
The Tuesday issue of the AMANDALA reported, “The company, BISL, was contracted in 1993 to manage two registries for Belize, the International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize (IMMARBE) and the International Business Companies Registry (IBCR), and was given an extension in 2003 to operate from that year until 2013. Two years later, in 2005, they were given a subsequent extension to operate from 2013 to 2020. The government, however, considered the 2005 extension unlawful after taking over control of the registries in 2013. The company then filed a claim on March 26, 2015, against the government for damages caused by a breach of the contract, but in October 2016, current acting Chief Justice Michelle Arana ruled in favor of the government, deeming the agreement to be unconstitutional, illegal and void. The case was taken to the Court of Appeal, where the Justices of Appeal dismissed the appeal and affirmed the ruling of then Justice Arana. The company finally got a favorable ruling after seeking redress at the highest appellant court, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which ruled that the government acted unlawfully when it seized control of the two BISL registries. The court further ordered that damages be assessed by the Supreme Court and paid to the claimant in its judgment.”
This is just one example of how Waterloo has used its vast financial resources to fund relentless litigation in order to forward its business goals. Another legal battering at the hands of Waterloo would likely cost the Belizean public millions of dollars, making the proximity of the BISL settlement and the leak, or “release,” of the letter unsettling.
The fears about potentially devastating harm that could be caused by the project, however, are also very real. The issue of the placement of dredged material generated during the initial phase of construction of a cruise terminal at the Port of Belize was one aspect of the environmental impact of the project which caused the conservation community to sound alarm. Such dredging would be necessary to create an access channel to allow Oasis-class cruise ships to berth directly on the Belize City shoreline at the proposed cruise terminal—but there were concerns about possible damage to the Belize Barrier Reef. Following the outcry, the company had adjusted its plan to dump 7.5 million cubic meters of dredged material at an off-shore location (between English Caye and the Turneffe Atoll) and had suggested instead in an EIA addendum that it would dispose of the material at near-shore and on-shore locations.
“The volume of dredged material that will be generated by the dredging operation will require placement in onshore and nearshore locations,” the 2022 ESIA draft by Nextera Environmental and Engineering Consultants on behalf of Waterloo states.
The Belize Water Services, however, lodged a public complaint last year to the DOE regarding the placement of the new proposed dump site—which the company said is between its sewer ponds and the sea, and on top of an important mangrove wetland used for wastewater treatment.
“BWS is greatly concerned by the developer’s proposal to dredge and to place 7.5 million cubic meters of dredged material between the location of BWS’s sewer ponds and the Caribbean Sea,” the letter, sent in September 2021, states.
The company’s release goes on to state, “Based on the EIA report addendum, the near-shore and on-shore locations for placement of dredged material lie directly on top of the natural mangrove wetland used as part of the wastewater treatment process and extend well beyond the present-day Caribbean Sea shoreline. BWS anticipates a serious disruption of the established treatment process, as well as an increase in the challenges of meeting the regulated effluent limits for discharges from domestic wastewater treatment systems into Class 1 waters.”
In regard to the possible impact of such a project on our marine areas, the stakes are even higher because of the commitments the country made when it entered the Blue Bond financing arrangement with the Nature Conservancy (TNC)—an agreement which allowed the country to shed hundreds of millions of dollars of public debt by retiring the Superbond at a discounted rate that almost halved that debt. That arrangement also paved the way for many more potential opportunities for financing and investment based on preservation of the marine environment—all of which could be placed at risk if projects such as Waterloo are not properly assessed.
In fact, in a recent interview, the local representative for The Nature Conservancy in Belize, Julie Robinson, said that one of the 8 commitments made by the government of Belize as a part of the Blue Bond conservation funding agreement was to strengthen the EIA process.
“One of the commitments that government has made is to strengthen its environmental impact assessment regulations, and so it is a process. That process, that EIA process, needs to be revised; it needs to be strengthened,” Robinson said in an interview with KREM News’ Marisol Amaya.
She added, “What was brought to light when we were going through this process was that the EIA process itself needed to be improved upon. We needed to do things like, for example, look at the cumulative impact of projects rather than just on their own, because we are working in an area where you have connectivity, and if you have projects A, B, and C right next to one another, you are having a much greater impact, but the EIA process does not allow you to look at the cumulative impact.”
As a part of the Blue Bond agreement, the government is thus required to strengthen its EIA regulations before proceeding with any major development projects. No set timeline is set for the revision and update of the EIA regulations, but Robinson said that a Marine Spatial Plan being drafted by the parties will be used to guide developments of this nature.
The Blue Bond Agreement was signed in November of last year. It was at that time that the government made the commitments, which included the revision and update of the EIA regulations process. It is to be noted, however, that while Robinson indicated that TNC can advise the government to put a pause on the approval of new developments until the revision is completed, she pointed out that after a project has started, bringing it to a halt would open the door for legal action against the government. It is an indication that Blue Bond commitments must be considered BEFORE approval for any potentially harmful project is issued, rather than after a project has been given the green light.
“As part of the agreement that we have, we can only push as far as to say that it remains consistent with Belizean law. We can advise—so things like, when you are looking at Waterloo or any of the cruise ship developments, is the EIA process has already started, then perhaps a pause can be placed on it until we are able to look at the process. However, it is not necessarily something that can be stopped. I think if you were to put a stop order or something like that, the government would expose themselves to being sued because, according to the law, they are starting a process. What we are trying to make sure if that process is as robust as it possibly can be. So we could request—if that process is going through—we could request and say, ‘hey, let’s put a pause on this until we have had a chance to review that environmental impact assessment process and strengthen it to take into consideration’, like when you talk about the cruise ship, you are talking about three cruise ports that are all like in a within an 8-mile radius of one another,” Robinson said.
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Minister of Natural Resources, Petroleum and Mining, Hon. Cordel Hyde, believes that Belize, as a sovereign nation, has the right to make its own decisions on whether to accept or reject the projects of developers. But when it comes to corporate giants such as Vulcan Materials Company and Waterloo Investment Holdings, that often proves difficult.
by Khaila Gentle
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Aug. 25, 2022
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources, Petroleum and Mining, Hon. Cordel Hyde, says that the efforts of giant corporations to exploit the country’s natural resources for exportation abroad is very reminiscent of colonialism. The minister is one of a few Government officials that have publicly spoken out against Vulcan Materials Company’s interest in aggregate mining at White Ridge Farm in Gales Point Manatee. Today, he once again expressed his strong views on the matter to the media.
According to Hon. Hyde, as an independent nation, Belize should have the power to reject developers that it has no interest in working with. Large, multinational companies, however, often have a hard time accepting “no” for an answer.
“We should have the power to say to any company, ‘you know what, your money is not good here. You know what, thanks, but it is okay. We do not want that kind of investment. We are concerned about other issues, and so you may want to move on to another country.’ We have that right. We’re an independent, sovereign nation. If we can’t do that, then we are not,” he said.
Minister Hyde confirmed today that representatives from Vulcan have requested, via the US Embassy in Belize, to meet with him. And while he has not fulfilled that request, the representatives have met with the Ministry’s CEO and the Mining Director.
“We are dealing with giant companies. We are dealing with multinationals that are used to getting their own way,” added Hon. Hyde.
Despite repeated and staunch objections from the people of Belize, developers have continued in their efforts to launch proposed projects in various communities. That includes Vulcan Materials.
This past Saturday, residents of Gales Point, a Kriol village. met with representatives from the company. There, some villagers made their message clear: they want nothing to do with Vulcan. Despite that response, the company has written a letter to the people of Gales Point, stating that they have been “energized by the productive conversations” that they had with the residents.
According to that letter, the company will continue to seek input from the village as well as from government leaders, local NGOs, scientists, and regulators. Vulcan also notes that this week, it plans to begin providing jobs to the people of Gales Point that will “pay a minimum of double the current minimum wage”. According to the letter, some persons have already expressed interest in taking up those jobs.
“We understand that there are some who have already made up their minds about this project. But we also know—from both our conversations with the government and with village residents—that there are many others who support this project,” wrote the Vulcan White Ridge Project Team.
Similarly, Waterloo Investments Holdings, a company believed to be owned by the Ashcroft Alliance, has continued in its efforts to get its proposed port expansion and cruise tourism village project approved, despite having been rejected by members of the public on at least three occasions during public consultations due to social and environmental concerns.
“For me, this whole Vulcan situation kind of reminds me of Ashcroft. There are some people who are just too big for this country,” noted Minister Hyde.The people of Gales Point, says Hyde, are resolute in their no. He also said that the environmental damage likely to result from mining in the area is “unthinkable”.
“You’re talking about our animals. You’re talking about our marine life. You’re talking about our hicatee, our manatees, our turtles, our fishes, our trees, our mountains that will never be the same. So why should we go down that road for a few jobs here and a few nickels there, while the rich multinationals will exploit our raw materials and ship that abroad?” Hyde said.
“You know what that sounds like to me? That smacks of slavery. That smacks of colonialism. That’s the very same thing that the ancestors of the Gales Point community fought against—escaped from slavery hundreds of years ago because they could not deal with that. They shunned that kind of thing,” Hon. Hyde further remarked.
Vulcan Materials Co. was recently ordered to cease its operations in Mexico, allegedly due to environmental and labor abuses committed while operating in Quintana Roo. The company has subsequently brought numerous lawsuits against the country’s government, including one for $1.5 billion.
The company’s representatives have requested to meet with the Ministry of Sustainable Development. Vulcan also plans to submit an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report in the near future.
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The repairs were made by the Ministry of Infrastructure Development during and after last week’s tropical wave. The funds will also be used to put in place proper drainage in those areas most severely affected.
by Khaila Gentle
BELMOPAN, Wed. Aug. 24, 2022
Earlier this week, it was reported that Cabinet had given its support for the supplementary appropriation of BZ $12 million by the Government to cover the cost of emergency repairs made due to damages caused by last week’s tropical wave. On Wednesday, during the Sitting of the House of Representatives, the Briceño administration tabled two supplementary appropriation bills, totaling $16 million, which includes that $12 million.
The Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing, Hon. Julius Espat, presented the motion, detailing the extent of the damage that was seen across the country after an estimated seven inches of rainfall. In addition to compromising several parts of the Philip Goldson Highway, the heavy rainfall also led to massive flooding which, according to the Minister, was a direct result of a lack of adequate drains and culverts.
As was mentioned in the Tuesday issue of the AMANDALA, shortly after the tropical wave passed, The Ministry of Infrastructure Development & Housing (MIDH) began working on alleviating the impacts of flooding across the country, including in the villages of Caledonia, Libertad, and San Roman, in the Belize River Valley, and along the Guinea Grass Road.
“Perhaps these are possible signs that the effects of climate change will be a greater challenge to us at the MIDH and maybe for the country on a whole, in fact, for the world on a whole as we go forward,” said Minister Espat during the House sitting.
In response to objections from area representative for the Albert division, Hon. Tracy Panton, Minister Espat rose to give an even more extensive breakdown of the reasons for the spending of $12 million on repairs.
“Yes, it was a rain that came that passed over us for two days. Yes, we had substantial damage. Yes, if it would rain for more than two days a week or two, we would be in dire infrastructural problems. Why is this so? It is because the Government that she [Hon. Panton] was a member of, neglected the infrastructure of this company—especially the rural communities—for thirteen years, and Mister Speaker, all we are doing is trying to bring it up to an acceptable level,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Shyne Barrow, agreed that the construction of additional culverts and drainage is in the best interest of the country. He did add, though, that the Government should be investing more to address what he called a “human development crisis”.
“The Leader of the Opposition is in agreement, because I know he has been in those villages, and he has seen it—and when he was there, it wasn’t raining; it was about to,” added Minister Espat.
According to Espat, of the twelve million dollars requested, the Belize District has been allocated $6.7 million dollars; the Orange Walk District, $4 million; and the Corozal District, $1.25 million. These areas, said Hon. Espat, were the most severely affected by the rains due to a lack of natural drainage.
“Everybody that you speak to in the country that is knowledgeable of infrastructure—from the villagers to the engineers—all agree that we as Belizeans and as a government need to invest more in draining our communities,” he stated.
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Un protocole d’accord a ?t? sign?, ce jeudi 25 ao?t, au minist?re de l’Economie et des Finances (MEF) par le gouverneur de la Banque de la R?publique d’Ha?ti (BRH), Jean Baden Dubois, et le directeur g?n?ral de l’Unit? centrale de renseignements financiers (UCREF), Michelin Justasble, en pr?sence des ministres Bertho Dorc? et Michel Patrick Boisvert, respectivement titulaires du minist?re de la Justice et de la S?curit? publique et du MEF. Ce protocole d’accord s’inscrit dans le cadre des actions pos?es en vue de sortir Ha?ti de la liste grise du Groupe d’action financi?re (GAFI) puisque le syst?me financier du pays risque de s’isoler et de ne pas pouvoir communiquer avec ceux du reste du monde.
Ce protocole vient en r?ponse aux risques constat?s en 2018 lors des ?valuations d’Ha?ti par le GAFI, d’apr?s Jean Baden Dubois. Il s’inscrit ?galement, pr?cise le gouverneur, dans le cadre des actions ? entreprendre pour sortir Ha?ti de la liste grise. <>, explique Jean Baden Dubois.
? propos de la nature de ce protocole sign? par la BRH et l’UCREF, le gouverneur a pr?cis? qu’il s’agit d’un protocole de coop?ration et d’?changes d’information les deux institutions sous la base des normes internationales et des dispositions de l’article 28 de la loi organique de l’UCREF. <>, d?taille le gouverneur, soulignant que l’?valuation faite en 2018 pour Ha?ti avait r?v?l? toute une s?rie de risques qu’il faut adresser.
Au cours de cette conf?rence de presse, le directeur g?n?ral de l’UCREF, Michelin Justable, a exprim? le besoin d’appui technique de ladite institution pour mieux r?pondre ? ses attributions en fonction de la loi du 25 mai 2017 sur son fonctionnement. Il a avanc? le besoin pour l’UCREF d’effectuer des ?tudes p?riodiques sur l’?volution des techniques utilis?es aux fins de blanchiment des capitaux et de financement du terrorisme au niveau du territoire national ; – le besoin de d?velopper des campagnes d’?ducation civique sur les cons?quences ?conomiques, politiques et sociales qu’entra?nent le blanchiment des capitaux et le financement du terrorisme – et le besoin d’?mettre des avis sur la politique nationale en mati?re de blanchiment des capitaux et du financement du terrorisme.
Plus loin, Michelin Justable a fait valoir d’autres attributions de l’UCREF comme celle de proposer des r?formes n?cessaires au renforcement de la lutte contre le blanchiment des capitaux et le financement du terrorisme. Pour cela, souligne-t-il, l’UCREF a grandement besoin de la collaboration d’autres institutions publiques pour ?tre plus performante dans ses op?rations tout en prenant le soin de renforcer ses structures institutionnelles pour pouvoir atteindre ses objectifs.
<>, a indiqu? Michelin Justable, rappelant que la mission de l’UCREF consiste ? recevoir et analyser des informations financi?res.
Pour sa part, le ministre de la Justice, Bertho Dorc?, a r?v?l? sans fournir d’autres explications qu’une d?l?gation s’?tait rendue ? Trinidad et Tobago pour participer ? une c?r?monie offerte dans l’objectif de voir comment faire sortir Ha?ti de la liste grise et d’?viter que le pays se retrouve sur une liste o? l’on trouve des pays o? le GAFI juge que les risques sont encore plus ?lev?s.
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A partir du mois d’octobre prochain, la Banque de la R?publique d’Ha?ti (BRH) va ?largir les bons du Tr?sor, a annonc? lundi dernier le gouverneur Jean Baden Dubois. <>.
Selon les explications du gouverneur, aujourd’hui, seules les banques et les institutions financi?res ont acc?s aux bons du Tr?sor. Quand on jette un coup d’oeil sur les revenus des banques et des institutions financi?res, on trouvera un fort pourcentage ?manant des bons du Tr?sor. Forte de cela, la BRH encourage les fonds de pension (ONA, EDH, etc.) ? se dispenser d’utiliser les d?p?ts ? terme des institutions bancaires offrant entre 6 et 7% d’int?r?t ou encore moins.
Ces fonds d’?pargne et de retraite auront d?sormais plus d’int?r?t ? se tourner vers les bons du tr?sor qui garantiront un meilleur retour sur investissement ? leurs b?n?ficiaires au moment de la retraite. Ainsi, tous les particuliers, les institutions d?tentrices de fonds de pension et les autres sont convi?s par le patron de la banque centrale ha?tienne ? utiliser les bons BRH en vue de s’assurer une ristourne plus importante.
Objectif: Financement mon?taire z?ro
Lorsqu’on ?largit les bons du Tr?sor ? tout le grand public, c’est un pas dans la bonne direction visant une meilleure distribution de la richesse dans le pays. Ainsi, au lieu de faire b?n?ficier de cette manne de 11,5% des bons du Tr?sor seulement aux banques et aux institutions financi?res, tout le monde aura dor?navant cette possibilit? ? travers le lancement officiel de cet ?v?nement qui se fera le 1er septembre 2022 sou s la houlette de la BRH du minist?re de l’Economie et des Finances (MEF).
L’autre avantage de ces bons est que, au lieu que l’Etat use du financement mon?taire pour r?pondre ? ses besoins de liquidit?s, il disposera d?sormais de plus de moyens financiers qu’il pourra utiliser comme pr?ts pour r?gler ses activit?s sans porter pr?judice ? l’?quilibre budg?taire. Quand les autorit?s recourent comme d’habitude aux financements mon?taires pour faire des subventions, cette pratique a des impacts directs sur le taux de change et sur l’inflation. Tandis que si elles ont cette possibilit? de recourir aux pr?ts des particuliers ou des institutions financi?res, elles ne cr?era pas de surliquidit? mais utilisera des liquidit?s d?j? existantes dans le syst?me.
Selon Jean Baden Dubois qui intervenait lundi dernier au centre de convention de la BRH, l’un des objectifs disput?s vis?s ? travers ces derni?res mesures prises de concert avec le MEF, c’est d’?voluer progressivement vers un financement mon?taire z?ro. Le MEF travaille d’arrache-pied pour voir si d’ici les trois prochaines ann?es l’assiette fiscale puisse ?tre augment?e de fa?on ? ce que le financement mon?taire puisse tendre vers z?ro.
Eviter l’effet d’?viction
Donnant son point de vue sur la question, l’?conomiste Etzer Emile estime que cette initiative est une bonne chose puisque cela va permettre plus de diversification du financement interne de l’?tat. Lorsque c’est le financement mon?taire de la BRH qui fait marcher l’Etat, on peut s’attendre ? des effets pervers comme l’inflation et les pressions incessantes sur le dollar que provoque assez souvent cette pratique sur l’?conomie. Un bon du Tr?sor ?largi ? d’autres secteurs ouvrira d’autres moyens de financement interne de l’Etat qui affecteront moins l’?quilibre du march?, particuli?rement au niveau des prix et du change.
Il (Bon du Tr?sor ?largi) a auss le pouvoir d’all?ger le poids de la dette externe (financement ?tranger) dans le budget national, poursuit l’analyste ?conomique qui souligne que dans tous les pays du monde, les gouvernements ?mettent des bons que n’importe particulier ou entreprise peut acheter. Alors qu’en Ha?ti les bons du Tr?sor ?taient toujours circonscrit au niveau des banques commerciales et autres institutions financi?res. L’autre probl?me majeur que freinait les bons du Tr?sor, selon Etzer Emile, c’est que c’?tait le MEF qui assurait seul sa gestion. Ce qui poussait les entreprises priv?es ? ?tre tr?s m?fiantes par rapport ? la capacit? de remboursement du MEF.
La participation de la BRH ? cette initiative d’?largissement des bons du Tr?sor constitue une garantie pour les institutions du priv? et les particuliers, estime le professeur ?conomiste, qui croit maintenant qu’il revient aux autorit?s publiques de ne rendre les bons plus attractifs. Etzer Emile met en garde les autorit?s mon?taires de rendre l’activit? trop avantageuse pour les banques. Cela risque de provoquer, ce qu’il appelle <> qui consiste chez les institutions bancaires ? s’investir totalement dans les bons du Tr?sor et n?gliger le cr?dit aux particuliers.
Cyprien L. Gary
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Minister Thijsen na studiantenan di Amsterdam
ORANJESTAD (AAN)/DEN HAAG: Den stadhuis di Amsterdam a tuma lugar un encuentro pa e studiantenan di Curaçao y Aruba cu e aña aki ta bay cuminsa cu un estudio na un Hogeschool of Universidad na Amsterdam. Municipio di Amsterdam desde 2010 ta organisa e encuentro aki pa yama e studiantenan di e parti Caribense di Reino Hulandes bon bini na Amsterdam.
Invitadonan special tabata e Ministernan Plenipotenciario di Curaçao, St. Maarten y Aruba, cu ta respectivamente Carlson Manuel, Rene Violenus y mr. Ady Thijsen. Tambe presente tabata directora a.i. di Arubahuis drs. Glenda Hernandez y mentornan pa Amsterdam Lourdes Bramble-Tromp.
Como parti di e programa e locoburgemeester di Amsterdam Hester van Buren a yama tur e studiantenan bon bini y a bisa di ta contento cu e studiantenan a scohe pa bin biba y studia na Amsterdam. E politico a bisa cu e tin comprension pa e adaptacion cu e studiante ta pasa aden awor cu nan ta Hulanda. Pa ilustra esaki el a conta di su experencia den un intercambio estudiantil na Ecuador. ‘Como un mucha di 16 aña cu a sali for di un pueblo chikito den e parti norte di Hulanda y hayami den un ciudad grandi cu ta Guayaquil cu ta hopi druk.
Tambe ta bini acerca e clima, e custumbernan y e idioma. Door cu mi no por a papia Spaño mi tabata keda keto. Tambe mi tabata tin e impresion cu tur hende tabata tin pleito, pasobra nan ta papia hopi cu nan man. Pero esey ta nan manera di expresa nan mes, dus mi a tuma esaki over y awor mi ta ripara cu ami tambe ta papia hopi cu mi man. Finalmente mi tabata habri pa e situacion; mi a cuminsa cu e aventura aki y asina esaki a bira un experencia unico di mi bida. Mi ta spera cu esaki tambe pasa cu boso. Tambe sra. Van Buren a bisa e studiantenan cu lo bin temporada dificil, pero persisti y keda kere den bo mes. Y sa cu tin hopi hende cla pa yuda’, asina locoburgemeester Van Buren a bisa.
Tambe sra. Van Buren a papia di cera amistad pafor di bo mes un comunidad, bira miembro di un organisacion pa studiante asociacionnan deportivo of musical y mira kico tin di haci den bo bario. ‘Mi ta spera tambe cu boso tambe lo duna nos di Amsterdam algo bek y cu por laga bo “footprint” den nos ciudad. Si bo keda of bay bek. Pasobra tur hende for di tur parti di Hulanda y mundo cu a bin Amsterdam a trece nan talento, tradicion y storianan. Y esaki a haci di Amsterdam un ciudad special, colorido y bibito’, segun locoburgemeester Van Buren.
Minister Plenipotenciario Suplente di Aruba mr. Ady Thijsen a comparti cu studiantenan su experencia di a studia na Leiden y Tilburg. ‘Bo mester ta sigur kico ta bo meta. Y ora cu bo sa exacto kico ta bo meta bo mester carga bo responsabilidad como studiante. Cu esaki mi kiermen studia responsabel. Bo mester busca un balansa entre studia y un bida social. Esaki a traha bon pa mi durante di mi estudio. Mi tin semper tres palabra cu mi a usa durante di mi estudio y despues den mi carera como abogado y politico. E palabranan ta Fe, determinacion y perseverancia,’ segun palabranan di Minister Plenipotenciario Suplente mr. Ady Thijsen cu tambe a desea e studiantenan hopi suerte den nan estudio.
E programa a continua na unda Tanya Fraai a entrevista diferente studiante tocante nan estudio, e razon pa a scohe pa bin studia na Amsterdam y otro topiconan interesante. E studiante di Curaçao Ian Peterson cu ta studiante economia na Universidad di Amsterdam a tene un charla den cual el a conta a base di su mesun experencia con e bida di studiante na Hulanda ta y por a duna a base di su experencia algun avisonan util pa e studiantenan nobo.
Na final e studiantenan a participa na un quiz pa mira con bon nan conocimento di Amsterdam ta, sigui pa un introduccion di diferente instancianan cu ta di importancia pa e studiantenan.
Potretnan ta cortesia di Arubahuis
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ORANJESTAD (AAN): Publico grandi a disfruta di tremendo presentacion di artistanan Colombiano,
Jessi Uribe y Paola Jara, diahuebs anochi na Aruba Harbour Arena.
Opening act tabata den mannan di DJ Haseth, cu a haci su debut riba tarima internacional y a lanta ambiente y publico a goza di su varios musical. DJ Anfe a sigui deleita esnan presente cu tremendo ambiente.
Jessi Uribe y Paola Jara ta den nan gira internacional ‘La Conquista’. Publico tambe a haya oportunidad di saca potret y haya autografo di e artistanan.
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“Desaroyo di Destino ta continua cu Baby Beach”
ORANJESTAD (AAN): Durante un conferencia di prensa, Minister di Turismo conhuntamente cu Director di DOW y CEO di A.T.A. a duna un update di e proyecto di Baby Beach.
Segun directora di A.T.A., desde e momento cu A.T.A. a pasa di ta un Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) pa un Destination Marketing and Management Organization (DMMO), a cuminsa enfoca riba diferente proyecto y tarea cu ta resorta bao di e responsabilidadnan di desaroyo di destino. Entre e responsabilidadnan aki ta resorta por ehempel siguridad, servicio, cultura, lugarnan atractivo pa potret e asina yama “instagrammable spots” y mas cu claro Aruba su playanan, parti esencial di e destino como un di e recursonan natural di mas importante.
Den transcurso di e añanan A.T.A. tabata parti di diferente proyecto di mehoracion y embeyesimento di playanan manera por ehempel e proyecto di reposicionamento di santo entre otro den area di Bushiri, drechamento y mantencion di palapanan, ponemento di buoys y e mantencion di esaki, estudionan relaciona na awa y calidad di nos playanan, trapinan y pier di Rodger’s Beach como tambe Baby Beach fase 1 y 2.
A cuminsa cu e proyecto pa trece desaroyo na Baby Beach como parti di e Seroe Colorado Masterplan algun aña atras cu intencion pa embeyece y desaroya Baby Beach y Rodger’s Beach.
Cu fase 3 di Baby Beach lo desaroya e area di parkeo pa evita parkeer riba santo blanco y lo extende e voetpad connectando e playanan cu na mesun momento ta forma un barrera entre playa y area cu vehiculo motorisa por yega. Lo planta mas mata indigeno pa crea mas area fresco bou guia di DNM y FPNA. E turtle wall existente lo wordo hala atras pa crea mas area di beach y e trapi cu ta subi bay Seroe Colorado lo keda restaura.
Den e siguiente fase (na 2023) lo sigui extende e voetpad te cu Rodgers’ Beach, e tennisbaan lo wordo restaura, dos kiosk pa F&B/retail lo wordo construi, e area di Rodgers’ Beach su beach lo wordo expandi, caretera lo wordo adapta y parking lo wordo structura diferente.
A.T.A. lo sigui traha di cerca cu Minister di turismo, ministerio di turismo y otro partidonan y socionan pa asina por cumpli cu e maneho di turismo delinea.
Algun otro proyecto cu por menciona den e categoria aki ta por ehempel e restauracion di e pier patras di RIU, restauracion y embeyecimento di trapi di Hooiberg, trails pa Mountain Bike, trabaonan pa drecha e costa di Bushiri, e Aruba Happy One Pass (HOP) y tambe embeyecemento di e trapi na Rodgers’ Beach cu Mosaic.
Adicionalmente di A.T.A. su rol pa facilita e diferente proyectonan aki, A.T.A. tambe tin un rol importante pa boga y para pa desaroyo sostenibel di Aruba como destino, balansando asina e necesidadnan di e comunidad cu esunnan di e bishitantenan. Como parti di A.T.A. su plan strategico multi-anual ta enfoca riba e modelo ‘High Value Low Impact’ unda ta considera e contribucion economico di turismo, e calidad di e experiencia di e bihitante, e proteccion y conservacion di medioambiente y e calidad di bida di residentenan pa asina por yega na resultadonan turistico di balor halto, minimisando e impacto cu esaki por tin riba Aruba. Pa e motibo aki A.T.A. ta forma parti di diferente comite hunto cu otro socionan manera e ‘Infra Tourism Committee’, ‘UTV/ATV Committee’, ‘Watersports Committee’ y tambe e ‘Aruba Amenities Committee’.
A.T.A. lo sigui forma parti di oportunidadnan unda por crea desaroyo di destino den un forma sostenible pa por garantisa e bienestar di Aruba y su residentenan.
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