The apologists for the UDP government-in-waiting continue relentlessly to make the point that the Pound Yard matter is a legal one, signed, sealed and delivered, and to miss the point that it is even more importantly, a political one.
The difference between it being a legal matter and a political one is fundamental to the question of leadership and the need for someone or some organization to champion the cause of the Belizean people. And it could be the reason why the cry for a third force keeps rising, even as the PUP and UDP elephants gear up their machinery to start trampling the ground on their way to general elections.
So far, and if they maintain their non-political stance, the Association of Concerned Belizeans ACB appears to be the most credible “Third Force” in the fight to safeguard the rights of the Belizean people, regardless of which party becomes the next government. Considering their non-political platform, it is understandable that the ACB has taken no action on the Pound Yard sellout situation. They are not in a political position to do anything; and from a legal standpoint, they have to acknowledge that “the cow done gone.”
There is an economic aspect to both the legal side and the political side of the Pound Yard story. Fighting the case from the strictly legal angle, as the UDP City Council has committed itself to doing, will require significant legal fees, which will be paid to its UDP lawyer, Michael Peyreffite. And when it is over, the Pound Yard property will still have been lost. The best the Council can hope to receive by this purely legal approach is the unpaid balance of the price agreed to by the previous Council, which is the difference between the $1.2 million sale agreement, and the $139 thousand received so far. But the $1.2 million price was already a giveaway, because the property was actually valued at $3.5 million. The Council, then, has committed to losing at least $2.2 million of the people’s money without a fight. They are only fighting for the $1.06 million balance, instead of $3.26 million. The reason the Council is only fighting for $1.06 million is because the Council is insisting on the strictly legal approach to the fight on the Pound Yard issue. They have already given up hope of recovering the Pound Yard property.
Fighting the case from the political angle, as the present UDP City Council and the UDP Opposition have refused to do, should cost the Council no legal fees, because the fight would then be taken up by the parent body, the United Democratic Party, in the House of Representatives, where they would bring the matter to the attention of the nation and demand that the government put a hold on any move at the Pound Yard, pending the outcome of a full public inquiry into the transaction.
As Area Representatives, the UDP Members are already being paid by the people to do this, and no other charges need to be made. The UDP is in a position to champion the cause of the City and put pressure on the PUP Area Representatives in Belize City to have the government take a stand in the matter on behalf of the City residents, or run the risk of losing the support for the seats they presently have.
By fighting the case politically, the UDP could gain political mileage both ways: if the PUP don’t stand up and rectify the situation in favor of the City Council, it could lead to the UDP winning a few more seats in the City in the upcoming general elections. (Or perhaps, as in 1979, they, the UDP that is, are already brimming with over-confidence?) And if the PUP step up to the plate and save the Pound Yard (at government’s cost) for the City Council, the UDP can still claim political credit for putting up the fight to gain the good result. It would be a win-win situation for the UDP. Why, then, are they not jumping at the opportunity for a political fight to save Pound Yard?
Where the economics are concerned, we can only look at the numbers to determine who are the winners, and maybe guess at why the UDP leadership is choosing to let its City Council “hang out to dry” on the Pound Yard issue.
First of all, who are the principals in the Pound Yard affair? The Government of Belize – the original title holder of the property, who transferred the title to the Belize City Council for a token sum of $500 only. The former PUP City Council, headed by Mayor David Fonseca – They made a deal with the Novelos to sell them the Pound Yard property for a low price of $1.2 million (the property was actually valued at $3.5 million) with the understanding that Novelos would use the land to upgrade and expand the bus terminal. The Novelos company – They received the title to the Pound Yard property after agreeing to pay $1.2 million, but actually only paid $139 thousand to the City Council. The Belize Bank – They gave a mortgage loan to the Novelos using the title to the Pound Yard property as collateral; and subsequently sold the property for $3 million to Arun Hotchandani on 31st March, 2005, when Novelos defaulted on the loan. Hotchandani – He bought the prime piece of real estate from the Belize Bank for $3 million on 31st March, 2005.
Who are the winners and losers in this sordid affair? Novelos (winners) – They only paid $139 thousand to the City Council for the Pound Yard property, but then mortgaged it to the Belize Bank for an undisclosed sum. One can only suspect that the property was mortgaged for more than the $139 thousand, so the Novelos should have profited from the deal, since they defaulted on the loan. The Belize Bank (winners) – Having given a mortgage loan to the Novelos, who defaulted on the loan, they then sold the property to Arun Hotchandani for $3 million. One can only expect that this was more than the amount of the loan Novelos received, so the bank most likely made a profit on the transaction. Arun Hotchandani (winner) – He got value for money with a solid investment of $3 million for a large, prime location in Belize City (valued at $3.5 million). The former PUP Belize City Council (winners) – They paid Central Government $500 for the title to the Pound Yard property, then collected $139 thousand for it from the Novelos, a profit of $138,500. The present UDP Belize City Council (neutral?) – They inherited a situation where the title for the Pound Yard property had already been “transferred,” so they accepted the situation as a “done deal”. They received $50 thousand from Hotchandani to help them move to a new location. The government and people of Belize (losers) – For $500 only, the precious Pound Yard property has been lost by the people of Belize, and Belize City in particular. And neither the PUP government nor the UDP Opposition or its City Council is making a fuss about it.
Some other winners? – Whenever there is a sale of land in Belize, there are legal documents that need to be drawn up, and lawyers generally charge a percentage of the transaction value for their legal services.
PUP City Council sale of Pound Yard property to Novelos – lawyer ? Legal fees?
Novelos’ mortgage of Pound Yard property to Belize Bank – lawyer ? Legal fees?
Hotchandani’s purchase of Pound Yard property from Belize Bank – lawyer? Legal fees?
To understand who is really fighting for the people, we have to “follow the money.”