BELIZE CITY, Mon. Feb. 7, 2022– During Friday’s sitting of the House of Representatives, the Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, Hon. Orlando Habet, informed the country that Waterloo Investment Holdings, which was denied approval to construct a cruise terminal at the site of the Port of Belize Ltd., has not provided any evidence or additional information of any sort to substantiate allegations made against members of the National Environmental Appraisal Committee (NEAC). In a written correspondence, Waterloo had claimed that some members of the NEAC attempted to solicit bribes from the company, and that those advances were rejected by Waterloo. The company has been claiming that their proposal to construct a cruise terminal at the Port of Belize facilities — which had prompted widespread concern among environmental groups as well as expressions of concern by the Belize Water Services Ltd. — was rejected by the NEAC because they refused to bribe a few committee members.
However, those environmental concerns and BWS’ objections were not highlighted in a release from Waterloo which had stated, “The Board of Waterloo is satisfied that NEAC’s denial of environmental clearance and the DOE’s rubberstamping of that denial is fundamentally flawed and comes against the backdrop of provable requests for bribes from certain NEAC members.”
The claims were made in the aftermath of the fast-tracked removal of the embattled former Chief Environmental Officer, Martin Alegria, who is set to resign sometime this month, after his approval several years ago of another cruise project at another location (possibly without the green light from the then Cabinet) was called into question.
In reference to the allegations made by Waterloo, which were brought up by newly appointed Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Moses “Shyne” Barrow, at Friday’s House of Representatives meeting on Friday, Minister Habet stated, “Madam Speaker, the allegations are a concern to my Ministry, as they make reference to the integrity of high-level public officers that include CEOs, Heads of Departments and highly trained technical officers and in addition, NGO representatives and a representative from the private sector on the National Environmental Appraisal Committee. “
Minister Habet further outlined, “And so, to further answer the question, the steps taken were to request that these allegations are made in writing and that evidence is produced that can substantiate the allegations. I have personally engaged with the CEO of Waterloo Holdings Limited and two other of their staff in early December in an online virtual meeting where I requested such evidence of the allegation of unethical behaviors of the NEAC members. To date, none has come to my office.”
A letter was sent to Waterloo by CEO in the Sustainable Development Ministry, Kenrick Williams, on December 7 requesting that the company provide the necessary evidence to allow the Department of the Environment to act on the serious allegations brought forward by the company. The tone of the letter, which expressed the ministry’s desire to uncover the truth behind the allegations, was one of great concern, but almost two months later, no response has been sent by Waterloo to date.
Minister Habet thus pointed out at the House meeting that until such evidence is produced, the Ministry’s hands are tied.
“Madam Speakers, I am certain that the Honorable member from Mesopotamia and once more Leader of the Opposition would agree that until such information is produced, it will be unreasonable, unethical, and unprofessional to pursue to investigate the likes of these professionals,” Minister Habet said.