Photo: Sitting of the Senate, December 11, 2023

A laundry list of bills was passed into law at what is to be the last sitting of the Senate for 2023

by Marco Lopez

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Dec. 11, 2023

While many bills were passed into law today, the most anticipated, and last debated, was the Port Acquisition & Settlement Deeds Bill 2023. This law seeks to give parliamentary approval to “wipe the slate clean” of the Ashcroft Alliance in one fell swoop. This settlement involved a payback of the Port of Belize Limited (PBL) physical assets to the tune of BZ$166.74 million, the resolution of two London Court of International Arbitration awards dating as far back as 2009, the settlement of recent litigation against the Christian Workers Union and the Ministry of Sustainable Development, and an incentive agreement granted to Radisson Fort George Hotel for the development of a modern conference facility.

This bill was passed into law today after its three readings. 

The bill brought to the Senate seeks to implement the terms of the agreements of the settlement between the Government of Belize and Waterloo Investments Holdings.

Senator for Government Business, Eamon Courtenay in his comment during his presentation on this bill said that the rationale for this acquisition was to take charge of the upgrade of the port’s bulk facility which has lagged under the 12-year-plus receivership – and to settle the international arbitration awards brought by Sir Michael Ashcroft against the country’s nationalization of Belize Telemedia Limited and BCB Holdings. 
 
Courtenay explains that while the CCJ had declared that one of the arbitrations was unenforceable in Belize, and the risk of funds being seized was not an immediate threat, the development of the Belize Blue Bond changed the atmosphere.
 
“There is a risk, and I’m not going to get into the legal advice, I will simply say that there is a risk that Blue Bond payment could be seized. Whether they will succeed is not for discussion today; what I will say is that the analysis that we had to undertake is what happens if those payments are seized. It then means that Belize as a country would have defaulted on the payments we have to make under the Blue Bond,” Courtenay said. 

He claimed that the government was threatened that the holders of those awards were going to sell them to vulture funds. Funds are set up to buy debt and go after debtors to recover the debt at more than what they paid for it. Courtenay said to avoid such risk the government decided to negotiate this settlement which has now been passed into law. 

Details of the settlement figures can be found in Amandala’s article from last week’s House of Representatives meeting. 

Senators Courtenay and Coye highlighted that the port, in its current state, is turning a profit, and noted that those profits can be used to finance the acquisition and the development of the bulk facility if the port is operated to ensure the profits continue.

As for the frozen ex-gratia payment to stevedores held under litigation by the Ashcroft Alliance, Courteney said.

“If we approve it [the Bill] today the stevedores will get their money,” he added. 

In addition to this, the claims against CWU members, brought by a former employer for loss of earnings said to be caused by a strike initiated by stevedores in 2020, will also be withdrawn. 

He noted that the nationalization of the port allowed for a “new dawn in labor relations at the Port of Belize”. 

In addition to this, Waterloo’s claims against the Minister of the Environment, Orlando Habet, and NEAC for the denial of its cruise and cargo port EIA will also be withdrawn. 

While senators generally support the acquisition of the PBL facilities as a positive move, UDP senator Beverly Williams said that the annexes to the port buyback, i.e. the settlements of arbitration awards, and fiscal incentives granted, “muddies the water.” 

For his part, Senator Chris Coye said that this move is a step in Belize’s path to becoming a major trade and energy hub for the region.

“We have to make the move; we have to make the action to bring it into fruition. This is a signal achievement, yes, in its own right; but it is a major step in us becoming that hub that we are destined to be,” Coye said. 

This bill was taken through all its stages and passed in the Senate today. 

Other bills passed were the General Revenue Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2023/2024 #2 Bill, the Belizean Nationality Amendment Bill 2023, the Economic Citizenship Abolition of Rights Bill 2023, the Municipalities Securities Bill 2023, Fiscal Incentives Decision of Minister Validation Bill 2023, Financial Services Commission Amendment Bill 2023, Limited Liabilities Companies Amendment Bill 2023, Money Laundering and Terrorism Prevention #2 Bill 2023, International Foundations Amendment Bill 2023, and Non-Profit Organization Amendment Bill 2023, all passed without amendment. 

This meeting likely marks the last sitting of the National Assembly for 2023. The full senate meeting can be found on the National Assembly YouTube channel.