Photo: PUP Senator Eamon Courtenay

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Dec. 21, 2023
 
Senior Cabinet Minister, Senator Eamon Courtenay is returning to private practice at the start of the new year, but he will remain in Parliament as a People’s United Party (PUP) senator and retain Cabinet privileges. Courtenay will also continue in his role as Leader of Government Business in the Senate, and will thus still be a part of the Briceño administration. Additionally, he will retain overall responsibility for the two cases that Belize currently has before the International Court of Justice, i.e., the Belize-Guatemala territorial, insular and maritime dispute, and the case against Honduras concerning ownership of the Sapodilla Cayes.

A statement issued by the Office of the Prime Minister on Tuesday, December 19, informed the public that at the time of his appointment when the PUP came to office in November 2020, Courtenay had only agreed to serve in Cabinet for three years.

The Prime Minister, Hon. John Briceño, has expressed gratitude to Courtenay for his contributions in the last three years and stated of him, “Belize’s diplomatic and foreign trade standing climbed to new heights as a result of Eamon’s leadership, while the Immigration Department has achieved major milestones, including the e-passport and amnesty.”

While the senior statesman has been praised for his contributions to immigration and foreign affairs, one of the last contributions he was also indirectly thanked for was his participation as co-negotiator for the Government of Belize in the buyback of the Port of Belize (PBL) from a subsidiary of Waterloo Investment Holdings Ltd., an Ashcroft Alliance company. In his teleprompter speech in the House of Representatives on December 7 at the start of the debate of the bill regarding the port buyback from Prize Holdings International Limited, which, through its own subsidiary acquired 100% of shares in the Belize Port Limited (PBL’s parent company) in 2019 and 2020, PM Briceño listed the firms as well as the government entities that conducted the two-month negotiations on the part of the Government. However, he never mentioned Courtenay, who we have independently confirmed did serve as co-negotiator. We note that the closeness of the announcement of his departure to the sealing of the deal with the Ashcroft Consortium has those in Opposition abuzz with accusations that Courtenay is leaving just as unresolved financial matters relating to Ashcroft were sorted out.

Courtenay, as many would know, in his private practice was among those regularly retained to defend the interests of the Lord Michael Ashcroft consortium. Those in Opposition have also pointed out that the Standing Orders of the Senate at Section 21 require that a minister move bills and motions, and Courtenay would no longer be a substantive minister. This has happened before, though, when Doug Singh led Government Business in the Senate between 2008 and 2010 without having a ministerial portfolio. In 2010, Singh was then appointed Minister of National Security. Section 21 sub-section 3 of the Senate Standing Orders reads: “(3) Government Business shall consist of Motions proposed to be made and Bills sponsored by Ministers, and shall be set down in such order as the Government think fit.”

Just as with the departure in June this year of former attorney general Magali Marin-Young to private practice after 2 years and 7 months in office, it is possible that the Government could retain Courtenay for representation just as other attorneys in his Courtenay Coye LLP law firm have been.

On the foreign affairs front, this was not Courtenay’s first rodeo. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade from 2006 to 2007 under Prime Minister Said Musa. He has also been a part of the Belize Negotiating Team on the Resolution of the Belize Guatemala Territorial Dispute from 1999-2012 and from 2019 to present. The 63-year-old litigation specialist with a stern, bold and unapologetic approach to things has certainly left his mark in foreign affairs. The portfolio now goes to the more mild-mannered Hon. Francis Fonseca, who will still retain his portfolios of Education, Science and Technology. The Prime Minister will take over the responsibility for Immigration. Fonseca has not responded to our request for comment regarding the added responsibilities.

We posed all the observations made by the Opposition to Courtenay for comment, but he has yet to respond. We also asked the Prime Minister whether Courtenay’s retention of his Leader of Government Business in the Senate post will align with the requirements of the Senate Standing Orders, and he too has not responded.