When Dean Barrow appeared on Channel 7 last Friday evening, apparently embarrassed at the revelation that his younger brother was the man whose name appeared as a director in the Belize Companies Registry and the Belize Intellectual Property Office (BELIPO), he said that two Ministers of Cabinet had cooked the deal in 2003 that heavily favored the private company. But he called no names.

Well, a full nine days after the story first broke, the United Democratic Party and, in tandem, the Association of Concerned Belizeans (ACB) today in separate press releases finally fingered the sitting Minister and former Minister who reportedly ?are part-owners of the Registry.?

The UDP in a press release today called for the immediate resignation or firing of Hon. Godfrey Smith, the man who in June 2003 was the Attorney General and the man under whose watch the agreement was implemented, the man whose portfolio responsibilities in 2003 included the government-owned Companies Registry.

This is the same Godfrey Smith whose Attorney General?s Ministry in September of 2003 it was revealed, gave an $800,000 contract to his brother, Norman Smith, to renovate the Foreign Affairs building in Belmopan. In the wake of the furor over the act of nepotism, Prime Minister Musa revoked the contract, but Norman Smith had already collected over $200,000 for the demolition of the walls of the building. (As far as we know, no additional work took place on the building.)

Fast forward to two years later, and on Tuesday, October 18, 2005, Prime Minister Musa, in the midst of the community?s uproar over what the ACB is calling a ?quintessential conflict-of-interest situation,? cancelled the contract with BELIPO and instructed his Ministry of Finance to ?ensure that there is a full refund of stamp duty paid to the Registry in connection with the sale by the Government of BTL shares…?

The public was up in arms over the revelation last week that under the revenue-sharing arrangement, only 20 percent of the stamp duties go into the Government?s coffers, while a full 80 percent goes to the private entities. In other words, of the $2.25 million in stamp duty the Ministry of Finance had instructed the Central Bank to issue to the registry, the private company was getting over $1.8 million.

The UDP also fingered Mr. Eamon Courtenay, a former member of the PUP Cabinet who in June 2003 was a Cabinet member in good standing; and Elson Kaseke, the Solicitor General of Belize, as the other persons ?who participated in this agreement.?

Amandala today contacted Cabinet Secretary Robert Leslie, who told us that ?the lawyers? were working out compensation for BELIPO and the Belize Companies Registry. We can?t be sure what that compensation would entail, and whether GOB would get back the $1.8 million in cash or whether it would be discounted against the settlement.

What we do know is that at Tuesday?s Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Musa made a powerful decision to cancel the contract. We do not know if he assumed that he could cancel the contract without much of a challenge from the ?friendly? interests in the company. But Channel 7 news is reporting tonight that the 20 employees of the BELIPO and the Companies Registry are resisting the presence of the GOB appointed collector in their Belmopan building.

Channel 7 news is also reporting tonight that there is talk from some quarters of a ?penalty charge for abrupt cancellation of the contract.? Our reports say that Denys Barrow, who is a sitting High Court Judge in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, flew into Belize today. One of his daughters will reportedly be inducted into the Bar Association tomorrow afternoon.

The ACB, today in its press release, is also calling for GOB to collect all stamp duties paid to this private registry from 2002 to 2005.

On the matter of Denys Barrow?s involvement in what they call a ?predatory arrangement to feed off of public money,? the ACB said that ?Mr. Denys Barrow did not hold public office in Belize in 2002 and so it is a matter for his own conscience.?

The ACB did say, though, that they were disappointed that Denys Barrow, as the brother of the Leader of the Opposition, considered it acceptable to be a part of this arrangement that saw ?millions of dollars? handed over to this private entity at the expense of taxpayers.