Adele Ramos
Assistant Editor
Amandala
P.O. Box 15
3304 Partridge St.
Belize City, Belize
June 25, 2008
Hon. Dean Barrow
Prime Minister of Belize
Minister of Finance
New Administration Building
Belmopan, Cayo
Dear Hon. Barrow,
I am writing this letter as a follow-up to a conversation we had at the Radisson on Wednesday, June 11, 2008, when you indicated to me that the Government was now prepared to release copies of the so-called secret accommodation agreements and their subsequent amendments signed by your predecessor, Hon. Said Musa.
When I followed up to arrange to get the documents with the Financial Secretary, he advised me that I was being asked to wait, and referred me to Senior Counsel Lois Young for an explanation. She told me that because of the upcoming Supreme Court case, I was being requested to wait, so that Government’s strategy would not be pre-empted. As a respectful journalist, I agreed to put national interest first and await the conclusion of those proceedings.
Now that the Chief Justice has made a ruling, and the document has been entered into evidence in the court – and will no doubt be referenced by the Chief Justice in his final written judgment/decision – the impediment cited to me two weeks ago for delaying the release of the documents no longer exists.
As I had told the Financial Secretary and Ms. Young, there were similar issues with the Universal Health Services agreements, but they were made fully available after disclosure in the Supreme Court, despite previous contention that they, too, were “secret agreements.” Why should the BTL agreements be treated any differently?
In light of the promise you made to me on June 11, 2008, to make all documents available to me, and under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (Section 12 of Chapter 13 – The Laws of Belize), I hereby request that copies of all documentation signed with respect of the accommodation agreement between the Government of Belize and Belize Telecommunications Limited (now Belize Telemedia Limited), dating way back to 2005, be made available to me and the rest of the media.
I note with concern that one of my colleagues, KREM News editor, Kalilah Enriquez, was denied a copy of the document when she sought to get one from the Registry yesterday. We hope that your administration will be proactive in ensuring that your pledge made to the media during the pre-election campaign of 2008 and thereafter to maintain openness and transparency, and to deal fairly with the media, is upheld.
I close by congratulating your administration for now outlawing secrecy in government contracts, with the passage of the amendment bill to the Freedom of Information Act in the Senate yesterday, Tuesday, and I implore you to act speedily on this request to release all the BTL agreements cited in this letter.
Most sincerely,
____________
Adele Ramos
Assistant Editor
AMANDALA
cc. Financial Secretary, Mr. Joe Waight
Ms. Lois Young, SC
The independent media
The Belize Independent Media Association