Is the Belize City Council bankrupt? Is the Council managing the public’s resources in a prudent manner? What will the auditors report say about the Council’s management of its finances? The questions are relevant, elections or no elections.
Amandala has, through a reliable source at City Hall, obtained a copy of an Arbitration Notice that was served on the Belize City Council for outstanding arrears to one of the City’s sanitation companies, Belize Maintenance Limited (BML). The notice to go to arbitration has run its course and it is expected that BML will appoint their arbitrators early next month, having served the Council with the Arbitration Notice on February 6, 2009.
Amandala has also obtained a copy of a letter purportedly signed by Dwain Davis, the Director of Finance for the City Council. Davis’ letter is dated October 20, 2008 and it acknowledges that the City Council owes BML the sum of $1,913.230.00. Of that sum, $1,657,218.00 is the balance owing to BML from the 2004-2006 contracts when the City Council was under a People’s United Party, (PUP) administration.
Under the new 2008 contract that the Council signed with BML, during the present City administration of Mayor Zenaida Moya, they are in arrears of $256,012.00 up to the date of Davis’ letter of acknowledgement. But the figure has grown, because the Council has missed several payments that had become due to BML.
Under the terms of the contract between BML and the Belize City Council, once a dispute arises, instead of going to the Supreme Court, the parties must first go through an arbitration process. A failure to settle their dispute through an arbitration process will result in direct court proceedings by the aggrieved party
The Arbitration Notice spells out the present dispute as follows: (1) “The liability of the council to pay the sum of $1, 657,218.00 for services provided by the Contractor pursuant to the 2 September 2004 contract made between the Council and the Contractor. The Director of Finance of the Belize City Council, Dwain Davis, acknowledged, in writing on October 20, 2008, the total indebtedness of the Council to the Contractor under that contract to the said sum. The letter constitutes a legal admission made by a person in authority at the Council. In any case, it is clear that the Belize City Council had no legal defense to the matter of the egregious non-payment of sums it has covenanted to pay pursuant to a binding agreement. The Council has to date made no reply to several demands by the contractor for payment.
(2) The liability of the Council to pay the sum of $353,765 for services provided by the Contractor pursuant to the 19 January 2008 contract made between the Council and the Contractor. The Director of Finance of the Belize City Council, Dwain Davis, acknowledged, in writing on October 20, 2008 that the indebtedness of the Council to the Contractor was at that time the sum of $256,012.00….
AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE THAT:
(i)The Contractor intends to appoint an Arbitrator within one calendar month from the date of receipt of this notice by the Council;
(ii) Pursuant to Section 10 of the Contracts, the Contractor hereby requires that the Council appoint an Arbitrator within one calendar month from the date of receipt of this notice by the Council.
Amandala spoke to BML’s Lawrence Ellis in his Baymen Avenue office, yesterday, Wednesday. Ellis said that the Council told him point blank that they would not pay the debt incurred by the former PUP City Council.
“So we have to take them to court and force them to pay us. They would only pay the debt that they, the UDP City Council, owe. That is why we have to go to arbitration,” the BML owner said.
“If you look at it, another election is coming, and another Council can say that they will not pay the bill of this City Council. There is no red or blue City Council. There is just the City Council, in my view,” he said.
According to Ellis, he is in the process of selecting his arbitrator and the City Council, in turn, will select its arbitrator. Both parties will then have to select a referee that would hear their case.
Ellis said that a case like this should not take long, because it is a clear-cut case. Following the arbitration process, if the City Council still does not pay, they may have to end up in the Supreme Court.
Although his company, which employs one hundred and seventy persons, is owed hundreds of thousands of dollars, the work that the company does for the city continues from week to week, Ellis said.
Asked to characterize the relationship that he has had with the City Council, Ellis said at the beginning it was a troubled relationship because the Council had come in with the intention to cancel his contract.
Amandala tried to reach Mayor Zenaida Moya, but was unable to do so. But we were able to speak to City Councilor Wayne Usher, under whose portfolio sanitation falls.
Usher told us that he is aware of the Arbitration Notice. He said that the matter is in the hands of the Council’s attorney, Deshawn Arzu from Youngs Law Firm.
Usher said that the matter might not reach arbitration, because this morning he had a conversation with Lawrence Ellis to have both of their attorneys negotiate a settlement before going to court.
Usher said that an arbitration exercise would be very expensive for both of the parties. “We are in the process of selecting an arbiter and he (Ellis) is in the same process. But in the meantime, they are trying to settle their differences before heading to an arbitration hearing,” he said.