Mr. Montalvo contends in his letter that our information is inaccurate, that B.S.I. did not obtain a ?government guarantee? when almost in the same breath, he says, ?Government is nonetheless supporting the project by way of granting it a development concession as was communicated in the Cabinet Press briefing of July 6, 2005.?

Mr. Montalvo stopped short of saying for how long the development concession was being given. Well, we?ll say it ? 15 years! Fifteen years without paying tax on the importation of all equipment and machinery, including vehicles, furniture, fixtures, spare-parts, and everything conceivable for use by the project. And what are the cane farmers getting from Government and BSI in comparison? Next to nothing.

But that is not all. BSI will be enjoying no taxes on its profits for 15 years! That means no taxes on co-generation profits until the year 2021. This translates into millions upon millions of Belizean tax dollars that will be sacrificed for BSI?s project, BSI diversification, BSI?s secured future. To say this is not a government guarantee is an understatement of Biblical proportions. Government guarantees come in different forms, like this one. The GOB-BSI-BEL deal provides BSI?s projected co-generation plant with a ?guarantee? purchase from them of 20% of national electricity demand, thereby ?guaranteeing? untaxed profits as well.

It is not outlandish either to suggest that, given the uncertainties surrounding the sugar industry in Belize today, it is this same ?15 year Development Concession? and the ?guaranteed sale of its electricity with untaxed guaranteed profits? that ?secured? for BSI the sixty million dollars ($60,000,000) in bank loans. So come off it, Mr. Montalvo. BSI?s bread is buttered on both sides. This is not the time for semantics. It is time for straight talk.

I wish to quote a statement from the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers? Association published in the press on August 1, 2004, which said, ?The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers? Association has no control in the marketing of our sugar; it is in the hands of BSI only. It is imperative that a marketing committee by established and that a representative of the Association form part of this committee. There should be more transparency in the marketing of the sugar ? There is the need for it and it should be done at the earliest. Our farmers are very discontented with the marketing of our sugar carried out by BSI only?? The Association issued this statement after ocean freight paid by BSI for sugar exports and charged against cane farmers earnings, leapt from $5,371,000.00 in 2003 to $10,265,000 in 2004 without any significant increase in exports. So much for claims of BSI?s sound management.

It is time to define the future of 8,533 registered cane farmers. It was 9,000 plus cane farmers last year. So it seems, a thousand of them may have disappeared already, been ?streamlined?.

Unlike Mr. Vicente Canul of St. Francis Xavier Credit Union, we are not encouraged by vague assurances from Mr. Montalvo that ?the establishment of the co-generation plant will play a significant role in providing long-term stability for the sugar industry and will provide confidence to cane farmers and facilitate the provision of finance to them and improve yields and returns.? Whew!

Neither are we encouraged by the statement that ?there are specific areas where cane farmers would gain significantly from an injection of finance? with reference to ?reasonably priced? agricultural credit. Whew! Can we be more specific for a change?

Mr. Canul of St. Francis Xavier Credit Union may have praised those vague references because he is desirous of having BSI put some of its millions of dollars into agricultural credit to cane farmers in a Credit Union institution ?under sound management and working hand in hand with our cane farmers?. And we applaud and support his request and initiative.

But for us, no, we are not impressed by ?pie in the sky? pronouncements. We want to see urgent action today for cane farmers, who are suffering great indignities, presently, solely to feed their families, to obtain health care, and to pay for the education of their children. And the first step is for GOB to depoliticize the cane industry and send to the breach, men and women of substance.

Mr. Montalvo says farmers will be able to invest in the co-generation project ?at a future date?, but he didn?t say how or whether the future is near or far away. Is this for real? Will they be paid for their bagasse as is done in Brazil now that the cane product has been found to have more value?

What will happen when cane farmers increase the supply of cane and the forces of supply and demand push prices down. Will BSI ?guarantee? them a ?reasonable price??

And about that vexing charge on cane farmers? earnings for ?research.? For how long will cane farmers be paying for ?research? activities before they can see positive results? Hard earned monies have been spent for years on researchers, their offices, salaries, their vehicles and their fuel – without results.

The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers? Association has been specific about their needs. They want inclusion. They want in on the co-generation project. They want a BSI Marketing Committee with cane farmer representation. They want ?affordable agricultural credit?, not ?reasonably priced? ones. They want technical assistance from those well-paid non-performing researchers. They want affordable fuel, equipment, and machinery, without the killer taxes. And they want sugar roads to be upgraded, now more than ever, since the larger cane trucks are tearing them up in record time. Can GOB and BSI be likewise specific to suffering caneros?

For cane farmers to be assailed by the above mentioned problems of production and preferential price cuts of up to 39 percent, all at the same time, the last thing they want to hear are vague promises. For cane farmers, BSI?s vague assurances come across as ?full belly? (BSI) telling ?empty belly? (cane farmers) to ?have hart? (hope).

(Signed)

Hipolito Bautista, for CRESCAN (Committee Rescastista de los Caneros)

August 25, 2005