After FOIA requests, PM says GoB will release technical report on original hospital land

_{Photo: Hon. John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize}

BELIZE CITY, Sat. Sept. 28, 2024

The four Social Partners represented in the Senate have fired off two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to government ministries as they insist on holding Government accountable on the purchase of the $6.9 million private land for the new university hospital.

The two letters dated September 20 were sent to the Minister of Natural Resources, Petroleum and Mining, Hon. Cordel Hyde, and to the Minister of Health and Wellness, Hon. Kevin Bernard. They were duly signed by National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) Senator, Hon. Glenfield Dennison; NGO Senator, Hon. Janelle Chanona; Business Senator, Hon. Kevin Herrera; and Church Senator, Hon. Alvin Benguche.

From the Minister of Natural Resources, the Social Partners are asking for five (5) documents relating to the purchase of Parcels 5624 and 11214 from Block 20 in the Belmopan Registration Section. The requests include a copy of the application that was made to the Ministry of Finance for the de-reservation of funds for the land purchase, the approval from the Ministry of Finance, the SMARTSTREAM payment documentation, copy of the sales agreement for the parcels, and a copy of the valuations for said parcels.

In the case of the Health Ministry, the Social Partners want the technical report which the Government said was produced by technocrats in the Ministry of Health and Wellness regarding the merits of the change in location for the university hospital from land to be provided by the University of Belize at its central campus in Belmopan. Additionally, the senators are requesting copies of the minutes of meeting of the Working Group that is dealing with the project.

Citing the construction of a tertiary level hospital as a significant step toward the fulfilment of the SDG Goal 3 – Good Health and Well-Being and improving health outcomes for our community – the Social Partners express that the feasibility study will help them better engage with their members on the crucial initiative. They are therefore also requesting information on the projected costs of the project, the potential impacts it would have on local healthcare services, and the Environmental Impact assessment.

The NTUCB Senator on Thursday affirmed that the issue should not die down, despite such efforts being repeatedly beaten down by political will. He remarked, “We think that this is an issue that needs ventilation, that needs clarification – from, not just a common-sense approach, but from the questions being raised by tax payers about the appropriateness of the hospital land, one. But more importantly, in my mind, of the value that was paid for the purchase of this land and the expiration or lack thereof of other options.” Dennison is hopeful that they can make the Government see that “this sort of behaviour will not be countenanced, should not be countenanced, and needs to be addressed.” He is of the firm belief that we as a people should not stop doing this, “because every single second-guessing of a bad decision is for the betterment of the country.”

Confronted with the reality that FOIA requests are often frustrated, Senator Dennison responded that “the process that would next obtain, especially if we take the judicial review route, requires that you exhaust the other options that are available to you.”

In their letters, the Social Partners remind the Government Ministers that, as per the Freedom of Information Act, they have 14 days to respond. On Saturday, September 28, Prime Minister John Briceño told Amandala, “But again, we are flogging a dead horse. We have made everything available. What more is there? The agreement – the DPM has explained to you what the agreement is all about. There is nothing more! But I could understand that they want to see the technical report, so we should be able to get that to them, probably in the next week or so.”

This would not be the first time that the report is being requested. When we asked Nurse Lizett Bell, Deputy Director of Hospital Services, for the document at their press conference on the matter on August 26, she stated that it was submitted as a Cabinet Paper and therefore could not be released. In subsequent interviews, the Prime Minister did not respond to our request for the document to be made public. Notably, though, at the press conference, Nurse Bell had said that the focus of the report was on accessibility to the hospital if it was constructed on the University of Belize land.