BELMOPAN, Thurs. Dec. 7, 2023
With a battery of legal and consulting firms, the Briceño Administration says it has negotiated the Government’s purchase of the Belize City commercial port, Port of Belize Ltd. (PBL), held in receivership under Ashcroft Alliance creditor companies since 2012. Based on the official figures, the facility would be purchased for BZ$166.74 million (US$83.37 million). However, there is another component to the agreement which involves a figure of BZ$30.6 million (US$15.3 million) for the resolution of two London Court of International Arbitration awards from as far back as 2009. In total, the payout from the Government of Belize will be BZ$197.34 (US$98.67 million). In contrast, Prime Minister John Briceño says the Alliance was seeking BZ$548 million (US$274 million). The Government says the final settlement sum represents 36 cents on the dollar for the compensation, damages and the Ashcroft Alliance’s legal costs of BZ$14 million.
Along with the purchase comes 600 acres of land adjoining PBL valued at BZ$52.64 million dollars.
The Government, in a release issued after the introduction of the Port Acquisition & Settlement Deeds Bill 2023 in today’s House of Representatives meeting, stated that the move “ends a prolonged stand-off between the so-called Ashcroft Alliance and the Government about the Port’s modernization, worker conditions and controversial plans for a cruise port at the site.”
Opposition member, Hon. Patrick Faber balked at the Government’s intention to take the bill through all its stages today. He asked for at least a couple days to review the bill. He proclaimed, “This is a big deal! This is a big issue … I’m appealing to the Prime Minister not to ram this bill down the throats of the Belizean people. Look at this document! And this is just one of three. How in the world are we to understand what this is all about?” PM Briceno responded, “A lot of these things are just land papers … We have limited time to settle this. Look at the difference. What we have done – this is months of negotiations. Unlike them, the former Prime Minister locked up in a room in Miami over the weekend and signed all of these things and then come and ram it down fi unu throat. I brought this to Cabinet for a long discussion.” The bill was debated for over three hours extending beyond 7:00 p.m.
Once the bill has been approved by Parliament and comes into effect on December 15, the Government is to pay US$45 million up front, with the balance being paid over 5 years via Belize dollar Government Treasury notes carrying an average coupon of 3.65%. The Government release on the purchase affirms that “current profits at the Port can finance the entire settlement sums, while expected increases in revenue will fund the long-overdue modernization program for the Port facilities.”
Notably, the agreement will also see the withdrawal of all Ashcroft Alliance claims and cases against the Government as well as stevedores employed at PBL and their bargaining agent, the Christian Workers Union. As outlined in the Government release, these claims include: “(1) the Waterloo UK-Belize Treaty Claim relating to the denial, on environmental grounds, of an application for environmental approval to construct a cruise port; (2) a lawsuit against the Christian Workers Union and the Stevedores claiming business interruption damages; (3) an injunction blocking an ex gratia payment to the Stevedores; and (4) various claims against the Ministry of Sustainable Development, the National Environmental Appraisal Committee and the Department of the Environment. Contributing to the debate, Tourism Minister Anthony Mahler described them as litigation terrorism.
As it relates to the arbitration awards, the Government also explained that the milestone agreement resolves them “at pennies on the dollar.” During the second reading of the bill, PM Briceño said that together they represent a debt that had grown from the original amount of BZ$83,164,371 to BZ$204,854,476 as of November 2023. The awards relate to Belize Telemedia Limited and BCB Holdings. Speaking with the use of a teleprompter, PM Briceño stated, “Government has negotiated a steeply discounted settlement of 9 cents on every dollar of the award plus legal fees of 7 million US dollars – from 204.9 million dollars, Madam Speaker!” The judgments have been assigned to Belize Social Development Limited and Midway Investments Limited.
Also included in the settlement is the unfreezing of fiscal incentives to Belize Hotels Ltd., owner of the Ashcroft Alliance’s Radisson Fort George Hotel in Belize City which is building a new, first-class conference facility worth $57 million that would accommodate international gatherings in Belize City. The company’s fiscal incentives had been put on hold last year. We are reliably informed that fiscal incentives so far for the project are worth over $2 million.
Amandala confirmed that the Christian Workers Union was not consulted prior to the presentation of the scant 5-page bill in the House today. The bill references the “Port and Waterloo Settlement Deed” and the “Midway and Social Development Settlement Deed” which were sent along with the bill to all members of the House. However, the Briceño Administration has committed that once the takeover is finalized, the new administration at the Port is expected to engage with labour and employee representatives with urgency. An interim Board of Directors to be appointed is to include a labour representative and a business community representative. In wrapping up the 3-hour debate and responding to a concern from the Leader of the Opposition, PM Briceño affirmed that the port management will not be privatized.
The Prime Minister also revealed today that Cabinet has already discussed renovations for the port facility. PM Briceño said the works would include the pavement of the access road and container yards, the expansion of warehousing facilities, improvements to bulk storage and shipping facilities, deployment of additional container moving equipment and the upgrade of low berth and barge access. Amandala readers will recall that the receivership refused to undertake the urgent modernization of the port, insisting, in a quid pro quo that approval be granted by the Government for the Port of Belize cruise terminal and cargo expansion project.
Barrow, in his contribution to the debate, described the bill merely as “… nothing more than the preservation of the corrupt Portico agreement so that those proprietors can have what it is that they want.” For her part, Albert Area Representative, Hon. Tracy Panton pointed to possible concerns that could be raised by the principals at the port at Big Creek.
While Prime Minister Briceño thanked the battery of legal and consulting firms that negotiated the deal on the Government’s behalf, Hon. Panton questioned how much they were paid in legal fees as this was not disclosed today. Apart from a team at the Attorney General’s Ministry and the Financial Secretary, the firms that worked on the agreement are as follows: Cave Lochan Watson LLP, Sullivan and Cromwell LLP, Dorsey and Whitney LLP, Mark Espat’s Hallmark Advisory Ltd., Marin Young and Company LLP, and Essex Chambers represented by Dr. Ben Juratowitch and Philippa Webb. Hon. Panton also zeroed in on a comment made by the prime minister about tariff reform. She stated, “You can be assured that there will be increases in fees for those port facilities.”
The Senate is to review the bill on Monday, December 11.