BELIZE CITY, Mon. May. 3, 2021– On Friday, during a press conference held by the United Democratic Party (UDP), the chairman of the party, Michael Peyrefitte, took the opportunity to address claims that were made by the PUP about certain transactions carried out by the previous UDP administration and to answer questions from the media following the passing of the 2021/2022 budget.

One topic of interest that the party addressed was PUP Senator Eamon Courtenay’s portrayal of the agreement between the Government of Belize and The Nature Conservancy as a “nefarious” deal.

Senator Courtenay rose in the Senate to further highlight what he considered to be shady aspects of the 50-year tax break deal given to the conservation organization that has worked for years protecting the flora and fauna of Belize.

Readers would recall that the terms of the agreement were first raised as an issue of concern in the House of Representatives by Minister Henry Charles Usher, who also condemned the tax break to the company.

The agreement was signed in October of last year, well after the dissolution of Parliament by the then Minister of Natural Resources, Hugo Patt. According to Senator Peyrefitte, TNC approached the government with a proposal to purchase 266,000 acres of forest in the Yalbac area, which was previously owned by a private group, for 72 million dollars. The funds to cover the purchase were raised by TNC with the help of local and international NGOs.

“So the Nature Conservancy come to us and say, ‘We have these people in the Yalbac area who together have two hundred and sixty-six thousand acres that they are willing to sell us for seventy-two million dollars. We will raise that money to buy it from them and then we will form an NGO to run the conservation of it for the benefit of the government and people of Belize’,” Peyrefitte shared.

TNC convinced the group of landowners, allegedly represented by Courtenay Coye LLP, Eamon Courtenay’s law firm, to sell the land. The conservation group was allegedly represented by Barrow and Williams law firm, according to Senator Courtenay.

“Senator Courtenay made great strides to mention that the Nature Conservancy’s attorney was Barrow and Williams at the time. What he failed to mention, which is true, is that his law firm, Courtenay, Coye, and Company, is the law firm representing the major landowners in the Yalbac area who are selling the land to The Nature Conservancy. So, he didn’t reveal that, but the public should know that,” Peyrefitte pointed out during the press conference.

And while Courtenay denounced the seemingly exorbitant tax break, saying that it will cost the country almost three hundred million dollars in lost tax revenue, members of the UDP are insisting that the deal is good, not only for the people of Belize, but also for the environment. Then Minister of Finance, Hon. Dean Barrow, and Omar Figueroa, the Minister of the Environment, had signed off on the deal at the time.

And while Senator Courtenay says the agreement was made in the “quiet of the night,” since it was not possible for it to be presented for approval in Parliament, Senator Peyrefitte informed the media that there was no need for parliamentary review of the deal, since the land transaction was between two private entities.

“If you are transferring, or dissolving or giving to the public five hundred acres of government land, for example, you need National Assembly approval. But no National Assembly approval was needed for this transfer, because this is private land. You have the Nature Conservancy paying for the land from private owners to be transferred to an NGO. There is no need for that to go to the National Assembly. So, for to indicate somehow that was done in violation of the law by not taking it to the National Assembly, that is disingenuous at the least,” Peyrefitte insisted.

He added that the tax breaks that were included in the agreement were never formalized, since the former prime minister, Hon. Dean Barrow, did not have a chance to sign an important statutory instrument (SI) which would have authorized the tax breaks. He said that the country stands to lose a huge financial benefit as well if the Nature Conservancy decides to back out of the agreement.

Peyefitte explained, “The Nature Conservancy is interested in buying bonds from Belize, from the creditors of Belize. And The Nature Conservancy’s position is this, they’re saying that ‘if we buy Belize’s bond, if Belize is serious about conservation, we can buy some of Belize’s bonds, and the amount of money you owe on your bonds that are controlled by The Nature Conservancy, you will be allowed to pay that portion of your loan in Belize dollars, which will be hugely beneficial for the country’. That way, we would not have to find foreign exchange for that portion of our loans that we have out there. All of that is on the line. So, if Mr. Briceno signs it, the unions will have him. If Mr. Briceno doesn’t sign it, the landowners will have him, and the Nature Conservancy will probably pull out of an excellent opportunity for us to benefit from one of the creditors that could be on our credit committee.”