Under rainy skies for much of the day, San Roman’s Escuela Secundaria Tecnica Mexico auditorium hosted a contentious Special General Meeting of the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA), the purpose ostensibly being to oust the 18 directors of the Association over accusations of mismanagement of the Association’s funds.
But, as the accusers were to find out, it would not be that easy.
The meeting had been called after a group of angry cañeros visited the Association’s offices in Orange Walk Town two weeks ago and presented a petition signed by a large number of cane farmers.
Earlier this week, there were reports in the North that the courts, acting for James Brodie and Company Limited, had seized four Association vehicles to help pay a long-standing debt to the merchant company. We understand that this debt has since been settled.
According to the man leading the charge against the BSCFA, Hector Melara of Orange Walk Town, this is just another example of why the directors of the Association, including chairman Eric Ek of Corozal, can no longer be trusted.
“All eighteen of them have to go… the good will suffer for the bad in this case,” Melara told us on Sunday before the meeting, which began just around 9:30 a.m., adding that the six-member Committee of Management, which Ek chairs, has presented no plans for the usage of over $6.5 million dollars in Fairtrade premiums which are to be directed to a replanting program and purchase of fertilizers.
According to Melara, “the Association’s long-term projects take years to get back to us, the farmers… if you give me a bag of fertilizer right now, I can take it back to the farm and use it, and that helps the crop in the short term.”
Melara added that because the directors who hold themselves blameless did not speak up about alleged wrongdoing by their fellow directors, they would not be spared.
There is a feeling among the cañeros, Melara told us, that the directors do not care what happens to their fellow cane farmers, as their salaries earned as directors are fixed and not affected by the vagaries of the sugar crop, which has recently been extended until August.
Just before the start of the meeting, Amandala was informed that apparently, without consultation, the Committee of Management, who, under the BSCFA’s by-laws, formally calls the meeting upon receiving notice from a divisional committee (either Corozal or Orange Walk), or three branches from either division, apparently changed the agenda for the meeting to include a presentation from a Fairtrade representative (a Mr. Kieran from Costa Rica), and discussions on the Association’s debts and herbicide program before getting to resolutions.
The original agenda, as shown to Amandala, deals specifically with the issue of a vote of no confidence against the 18 directors, and other resolutions against them.
Valentin Carrillo of San Lazaro told us that after the vote of no confidence was made, the directors would be asked to resign, and if they did not, then the assembly, under the by-laws, could vote to remove their salaries and strip them of all power to act on behalf of the Association.
Playing peacemaker and mediator was Association attorney and Orange Walk East area representative, Hon. Marcel Cardona. Hon. Cardona addressed the gathering to say that he found the procedure for calling the meeting in order, but under the leadership of Eric Ek, the Fairtrade representative was asked to speak anyway, only to be twice challenged by the cañeros, who approached him for the microphone.
All the while, Mr. Gregorio Espiritu, another dissident leader, kept insisting to Cardona, Ek and company that the meeting had been properly called and that their agenda was paramount.
Eventually, a motion was moved from the floor that Ek step aside from chairing the meeting, and after this was unanimously approved, Hugo Patt, chair of the Sugar Industry Control Board, took over.
Having achieved this most important phase, the cañeros moved promptly to issue the resolution for a vote of no confidence. After some verification procedures, the vote was called for and carried unanimously, but Alfredo Ortega, treasurer for the Committee of Management, demanded a debate, which was subsequently held. We understand, however, that the vote would still hold up.
Later in the afternoon, motions were passed to strip the directors of their powers and duties for Fairtrade projects conducted by the Association, and to relieve them of their salaries and stipends.
The former was passed subject to a condition instituted on the advice of the BSCFA’s CEO, David Madrid, that the Fairtrade offices be contacted, and that they give assurance that such a move would not cause the Association to lose its Fairtrade certification. A motion to install a six-member Oversight Committee to manage the affairs of the Association was being debated as Amandala left San Roman.
The entire proceedings were conducted in Spanish, with only a few translations. But it was clear from the many repeated interruptions and vocal dissent for their opponents and loud cheers whenever agreement was made, that the cañeros were quite satisfied with the proceedings.
Eric Ek told us he had no comment on the decision to oust him and his fellow directors.
Patt told us during a break in the proceedings that the SICB would support the cañeros’ decision, short of anything illegal or against the laws.
The effect of Sunday’s decision is to essentially shut down the BSCFA until the Annual General Meeting in October, and in so doing, according to Cesar Cowo, a principal in the United Cane Farmers’ Association, to “stop the misspending of our monies” by these directors until then.
The UCFA and Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Union (CSCPU) are awaiting modification of the Sugar Industry Act to remove the BSCFA as the sole union for cane farmers, per a decision in the Supreme Court last December in favour of the UCFA.
Today, Gregorio Espiritu of Corozal told us that the membership approved the proposed six-member committee, to be comprised of himself, Hector Melara, Rene Villanueva of Libertad, Corozal (no relation to the owner of LOVE FM who also goes by that name), Valentin Carrillo of San Lazaro, Orange Walk, Ophelia Montejo of Libertad, Corozal, and Javier Baeza of Orange Walk. Their task will be to supervise implementation of the activities and programs of the Association that had fallen behind schedule.
The meeting finished around 4:30 in the afternoon.