In an effort to force the Government of Belize to release the guarantee document GOB says binds it to settle a $33 million debt for Universal Health Services (UHS) with the Belize Bank, the Association for Concerned Belizeans (ACB) has now gone to the Supreme Court.
Amid doubts by the public that such an agreement even exists, Ombudsman Paul Rodriguez wrote the ACB on March 26 to say that the document does exist, but the ACB can’t see it because of privacy and confidentiality concerns.
In a filing reportedly made this morning, ACB is asking the court to overrule or set aside the decision of the Ombudsman to withhold the guarantee from the ACB, which had requested disclosure of the document under the Freedom of Information Act.
As we had reported last week, Rodriguez wrote the ACB saying that he could not order Government to release the guarantee document to the Association because it falls under the categories of documents exempt under the Act.
However, the ACB says that there was an error of law, and the document is not exempt as Government and the Ombudsman have claimed.
Our newspaper has been able to see a copy of a similar guarantee the DFC gave the Belize Bank for the same loan, and we did not see anything in that tiny five-page document that reveals any sensitive information about the bank or the customer (UHS).
Government sources had told us last week that that DFC guarantee was replaced with a Central Government guarantee at the end of 2004. However, it appears that there continues to be a DFC guarantee running parallel to the GOB guarantee.
We understand that former DFC CEO, Troy Gabb, had written the bank in April 2005, well after the GOB guarantee was allegedly executed, asking for the bank to release the DFC of the guarantee because it had come to the DFC’s attention that the UHS had provided an alternate guarantee. Gabb did not elaborate on the nature of the guarantee.
It is evident that the DFC was party to the original financing agreement with the Belize Bank, which was reportedly signed on October 25, 2002.
In addition to the DFC, that document also names Universal Health Services Company Limited, Universal Specialist Hospital Company Limited, Belize Medical Engineering Company Limited, Integral Health Care Limited, The Pathology Laboratory Limited, Dr. Victor Lizarraga, Dr. Atanascio Cob, Mrs. Nuri Lizarraga, Mrs. Rita Lizarraga, and Mr. Luke Espat, as the other parties to the deal.
Under the agreement DFC committed itself to securing $17 million in principal payments plus interest in the region of 17% annually. Today, the tab is an estimated $33 million.