And, during his trip to Mexico, Prime Minister John Briceño also spoke with President Lopez Obrador about border security issues, specifically the reported increase of cartel activities in southern Mexico. He told us how those discussions went, but also noted that the fight is not new to Belize. He says Belize has been tackling these border security issues in the north from day one.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“We spoke about many issues but certainly the issue with the threat from cartels is nothing new to us. We have been dealing with this. When I met Secretary of State Blinken, Secretary of Home Land, the Deputy of the CIA and all of the officials my message had been to them that we need help now that if we did not get help then we are going to have a totally different place. We have to do everything possible to keep out the organized crime from Mexico or the cartels. We do not have the money or the rootlessness they have and what is so ironic to me is that the Leader of the Opposition dares to criticize the government. I remember last year when we did a supplementary budget for about a million dollars to help us boost our presence in the north he was there criticizing that here we are coming for more money and now here he is saying we are not spending enough. I think he needs to get his act together. The point is that we have been fighting this from day one and we have been working on some plan, but this is not something you could invite the NGO and media and say hey this is what we are doing. This is national security.”
PM Briceño also confirmed that the travel advisory to Chetumal issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been lifted. The prime minister says there is no need for Belizeans to get too flustered over the reports of increased cartel activities in Chetumal. He further stated that Cabinet has also approved plans to make it easier for Mexicans to enter Belize.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I don’t think we need to get too excited, concerned, of course we have to be concerned, but when I spoke to the president he said what he has done is immediately sent in help from the federal police that have come in and settled down and he expects to be able to keep pressing them so that Chetumal can again be looked at as this peaceful city. All of us love to go to Chetumal, to go watch a movie and shop. But at the same time Cabinet has made it easier for Mexicans to come to Belize. We will provide the passes to them for free. We are going to remove the border tax and charge. We are going to allow them to use their insurance from Mexico to come to Belize. All of this to increase more Mexican tourism into Belize.”
Paul Lopez
“And the travel alert?”
Prime Minister John Briceño
“It has been removed. I think we reacted too quickly. We should not have done it at that time and what we did is that when it was brought to our attention we brought it down immediately.”
After a few postponements of the Senate Special Select Committee’s hearing, the inquiry resumed today at the National Assembly Building in Belmopan. The morning session presided over questions posed to Sunjay Hotchandani, a real estate businessman who said companies to which he is the director sold lands to Portico Enterprises Limited. We’ll share what Hotchandani had to say later in the newscast, but the brow-raising statements came during the afternoon session, when the developer of Port of Magical Belize, David Gegg, appeared before the panel. Flanked by his legal advisor, Andrew Bennett, Gegg opened up with a statement in which he said that despite his letter of March twenty-sixth to the Committee in which he said he would not appear because he was of the view that the Chair of the Committee was biased, he said he has had a change of heart because he felt that it is time that the facts be shared with the Belizean people. Gegg said that the idea for Portico was conceptualized in 2017.
David Gegg
David Gegg, Developer, Portico Enterprises Ltd.
“On launching Magical Belize in 2017, and after engaging with consultants in Miami and preparing a detailed business plan, I immediately engaged with the then Minister of State and Chair of the CSCI, Mrs. Tracy Panton. The first documented evidence was dated June 16th of 2017. Volumes of correspondence exist in that regard. In addition, there were several meetings with the CSCI in 2018, 2019, and in 2020 at which presentations were made that, among other things, justified our location over the others. These presentations and the supply of information generally were all prior to the signing of the Definitive Agreement. I also met with then Prime Minister Barrow, and it was he who instructed that an MOU be prepared and signed with the Government of Belize. That meeting was arranged by then Senator Duncan, acting as a financial advisor, and was also attended by Mrs. Karen Bevans, the Director of the BTB at that time. The meeting was held in the Whitfield Towers on Coney Drive, where the prime minister then had an office. The MOU, as we all know, was signed in September of 2017 by the then minister of Trade, Economic Development, Petroleum and Investments. Mr. Erwin Contreras and co-signed by Minister John Saldivar. The MOU was non-binding and states that it would be cancelled at any time, but either party without consequence period. There was never any discussion at any time about a cancellation of that MOU, but there were discussions in Cabinet on several occasions about the steps being carried out by Portico according to Erwin Contreras, who I have no doubt will collaborate on this. With our environmental studies in high gear and with the necessary steps being taken to ultimately secure the rights to develop Magical Belize, a team of senior executives from Boscales agreed to visit the country as a meeting had been arranged with then Prime Minister Barrow. That meeting took place on December 12th, 2019 at the Laing Building near to the Municipal airport as requested by the PM. That meeting, also attended by Senator Duncan, letters, plural, were delivered to PM Barrow by a senior Boscales representative. The primary letter was titled Cruise Terminal Magical Belize Equity Commitment Letter Proposal and was dated 3rd December, 2019. That letter indicated that Boscales was prepared to cover the full equity position of the financial requirements of the project. A second letter was also provided to Prime Minister Barrow which featured a list of European bankers providing references for Boscales. The NEAC meeting of August 28th had approved our environmental compliance. I could not believe it. I was over the moon. Please keep in mind that our draft definitive agreement had already been in circulation since June 1st to Ministers Panton and Peyrefitte, as well as to Minister Contreras. My elation was short lived a few days later when there was a suggestion that there may not have been a quorum at the meeting of August 28th. However, in that same meeting of the NEAC of August 28, they had also approved the EIA for the building of the Sartaneha Road, and an Environmental Compliance Plan was quickly prepared and signed. The local media had reported that partial funding for that project would come in the form of $100 million deposit that was to be made to a private New Yorker. account. In early September of 2020 and wanting to ensure that the government representatives understood the financial commitment which Boscales had provided, freshly dated letters to P.M. Barrow with copies to Tracy Panton and Erwin Contreras were delivered to the offices of those persons at their Belmopan locations. I personally delivered those letters. The letters, two different letters, once again contained the equity commitment by Boscaeis and the references from their European bankers. Those letters were, dated September 2nd, 2020, and I delivered them on or about September 4th in Belmopan. Having not heard from NEAC as regard the approval from Minister Panton or anyone else in the progress of the Definitive Agreement, I reached out to Minister Contreras for some guidance on how to proceed. He indicated that he needed to review the situation before he could commit to the DA, as he foresaw the environmental clearance being an issue. I immediately pointed out to him that the Definitive Agreement for Harvest Caye had been signed prior to their receiving environmental clearance. Mr. Minister Contreras said that he would seek advice and get back to me.”
Gegg said he instructed his attorney, David Morales, to draft up a letter to former PM Dean Barrow and copied to then Ministers Erwin Contreras, Michael Peyrefitte and Tracy Taegar-Panton. When Senator Bevington Cal probed Gegg on the role that former Minister of Economic Development, Erwin Contreras signing the document Definitive Agreement, and the authority he had to do so without further approval, Gegg said he didn’t think Contreras needed any, but he said key persons in the previous government, including the former Prime Minister knew about it.
Bevington Cal, P.U.P. Senator
“I know you said that Prime Minister Barrow – just to track back a bit – that Prime Minister Barrow, Honorable Panton, Erwin Contreras, all of these persons knew about this project that was coming up to the signing of the MOU.
David Gegg
David Gegg, Portico Developer
“That was really the first thing that happened and they knew about it because so many other things happen after the MOU. The MOU was September of 2017 and that kind of paved the way for everything else that happened after that. And Bishop Benguche, by the way the, studies that you might like seeing are all online with the Department of the Environment, but I would be happy to send copies directly to you, if I had the means to do so.”
Senator Bevington Cal
“I’m looking at the signatories to the MOU. I see, and we’re yet to verify these, but I’m sure that, or maybe I should ask the question. Who were the signatories to the MOU?”
David Gegg
“The ones that I remember were myself, of course, Mr. Contreras and Minister Saldivar.”
Senator Bevington Cal
“Mr. Saldivar. And why did Honorable Panton not sign if she was the –“
David Gegg
“Senator, it was my understanding. It is my understanding that Minister Panton did not approve of the government signing an MOU with us and she refused to sign it.”
An immigration officer has been arrested for the crime of wounding, after allegedly assaulting a woman at the western border. Allegations are that on Monday; a Belizean national, was travelling through the western border when she began to feel frustrated at the pace the officers were processing her information. After voicing her discontent with Saul Lisbey, the forty-eight-year-old male clerk, who had yet to stamp her passport, he allegedly approached the woman and shoved her, causing her to fall to the ground. Upon hitting her head, she became unconscious and was rushed to the hospital. On Tuesday, she filed a report against Lisbey, and he was arrested today. On Tuesday, before Lisbey’s arrest, we spoke with C.E.O. of Immigration, Tanya Santos, who told News Five that Lisbey was placed on administrative leave while the investigation transpired. Here’s what she had to say.
On The Phone: Tanya Santos
On The Phone: Tanya Santos, C.E.O., Immigration
“So, I got a report last night that there was an incident, it may have been an altercation between one of my officers, an immigration officer, and a member of the public who was seeking service there at the Western border. I subsequently saw a post on social media about this incident and further inquired from the officer in charge about the situation who then went to investigate. And later on, between last night and this morning, I was able to confirm that yes, indeed, there was an incident involving an immigration officer and a member of the public in which it appears that she was assaulted. And I say appears because that is yet to be determined.”
Briteny Gordon
“Was a report filed against the officer or has there been any reports of her instigating anything?”
Tanya Santos
“Not to my knowledge. I do not know that she has filed a report as yet. I do not think so, but that is a matter for the police. But I can let you know that we at the Ministry of Immigration have already placed that officer on administrative leave while we conduct our investigations further.”
Britney Gordon
“And was there anyone else involved in the incident?”
Tanya Santos
“No, I have seen footage of the incident itself and apart from other members of the public who were there waiting for their turn to get service. There was no other officer, whether they be from immigration or from what management agency or customs was physically present. We do have and we have seen video footage of the incident itself.”
Britney Gordon
“And have you received an update about the state of the woman?”
Tanya Santos
“I don’t know that she has been released from the. I think it was in San Ignacio. I do know that she has some, an injury to her head. I don’t know if it’s been classified as harm or wounding or anything as yet, but an injury. I’d like to assure the Belizean public and the traveling public that this is not behavior that is tolerated by the ministry of immigration, and that we will take every step to ensure that. We deal with this matter fully and if anybody experiences any abuse or mistreatment by immigration officers or any other officers for that matter to please feel free to get in touch with us at the office in Belmopan to look into these matters because we need to ensure that our services are the best to our public.”
Former party leader Patrick Faber has written to the chair of the United Democratic Party requesting a special meeting of the central executive committee to address violations that were purportedly committed by Party Leader Shyne Barrow. In his letter, the Collet Area Representative brings to the chairman’s attention that several articles in the U.D.P.’s constitution were breached. Citing a legal paragraph in the constitution, Faber puts forward that the national campaign manager is a member of the central executive committee. Nonetheless, Barrow has wrongly stated that such is not the case, before proceeding to inform that an attempt has been made to replace Juliet Thimbrel as the U.D.P.’s national campaign manager. Furthermore, Faber also says that the election of the chair and vice chair of a special committee for campaign was also not in accordance with the constitution of the party. Those positions are required to be elected by secret ballot, as well as by a majority vote of the central executive committee. Faber writes, “these actions have directly violated our party’s constitutional guidelines and threaten the integrity and democratic principles of the U.D.P”. In response, chairman Mike Peyrefitte has said that he will not convene a central executive meeting and that the only issue that matters at the moment is the upcoming bye-election in Toledo East. He writes, “I will not attempt to waste anybody’s time who is serious about the success of this party and subject them to a CEC meeting where you and the party leader will get into a boxing match. Hell no. Do now what you must at this point, but I will not be a part of the clown show”.
And while the Portico developer said that at least three past Cabinet Ministers knew about the Portico project, he was also solicited for campaign financing in exchange for environmental clearance for the project, but he did not reveal the name of the person. And when he did not provide the funds, his project did not receive the clearance prior to the elections.
David Gegg, Developer, Portico Enterprises Ltd.
“Around the middle of September, after the August 28 NEAC meeting, which supposedly approved our environmental clearance, I received a message, and I interpreted that message as saying to me that the environmental documentation approved on August 28 would not be concluded in the absence of a significant campaign contribution.”
Senator Bevington Cal
Senator Bevington Cal
“That was mid-September of 2020”
David Gegg
“Correct.”
Senator Bevington Cal
“By whom?”
David Gegg
“I can’t say.”
Senator Bevington Cal
“What was the amount asked for?”
David Gegg
“Seven figures.”
Senator Bevington Cal
“Can you state the number, the figure?”
David Gegg
“Seven figures.”
Senator Bevington Cal
“And that, I would anticipate, was members of the then government, the then UDP government.”
David Gegg
“They were the only ones in a position to conclude the ECP. Let, me say also, after that there was another meeting of the NEAC called on October 15th. My analysis, by then they knew nothing was in the pipeline, and they were hoping for something smaller. And they didn’t get that either. And the fact that administration did not conclude our environmental clearance should put that issue to rest.”
The Social Security Board recently took a vote to designate three external directors to serve on the executive of a special purpose vehicle for the controversial Public Administration Campus. The appointments, described as unilateral, have been strongly criticized by the National Trade Union Congress of Belize. In a statement issued by the umbrella organization earlier today, the N.T.U.C.B. goes on to say, “the proposed five-member board composed solely of private sector members starkly contrasts a balanced private, public, and workers-formed construct. What is even most distasteful is the apparent view that the Government of Belize handpicks all five members. Instead of adhering to recommendations and advice for a maintained tripartite structure as prescribed by the law or a similar equitable representation of investors’ interest, the S.S.B. has once again disappointed the workers and people of this country”. The N.T.U.C.B. calls on the Briceño administration to immediately ensure that the special purpose vehicle which falls under the public/private partnership system be managed by a tripartite structure.
We have heard the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams talk about his interest in entering the political arena, though he has not made any official announcements. Recent verbal exchanges between himself and the Leader of the Opposition, playing out in the media, have had many questioning whether Williams is gunning for the Mesopotamia seat. As a Belizean, if Williams wants to run for office there is nothing that would prevent him from doing so. But, hypothetically, under what political banner would he run? Today we asked the Prime Minister if the P.U.P. would be open to welcoming Williams into the fold. Here is what he told us.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minster John Briceño
“I don’t know why they are making a big deal about it. He has not spoken with me about that, but like any Belizean if you want to put your name on the ballot you can. Jules has all the answers, he should put his name. Everybody should have the right to go in as long as they believe they can be productive legislatures and politician to adress the problems we have in this country.”
Paul Lopez
“How would you feel about a man like the Commissioner being a part of the party?
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Well I think that he has competency. He has shown that he is about public service. He has been a police officer for several decades and highly qualified and I think he is liked and respected by everyone except the leader of the opposition and I wonder why.”
The Government of Belize officially inaugurated the Remate Road in the Corozal District. The road is also referred to as the Corozal bypass. It serves several communities in rural Corozal. It is also used as a short cut to get to the Belize/Mexico border. Millions were invested in the construction of the road, as Prime Minister Briceño pointed out following today’s ceremony. He also spoke on how this upgrade will serve the communities in the areas.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I think that for those of us that lives here in the north they will think about the Remate Road or the Corozal Bypass that during the dry season dust and during the rainy season mud. So many times we try to avoid using this road. But as I pointed out earlier this is Plan Belize at work, that the foundation of plan Belize is about people, how is it that we are going to make the lives of people better. And we are doing the Remate Road and upgrading the Phillip Goldsom Highway is all about that. We are spending about ninety-three million dollars of we are grateful to the United Kingdom approximately around thirty-seven million dollars as a grant and working with the CDB. And what is important to point out is that when would you hear the Ministry of Infrastructure Development or the Ministry of Works as it was then, building something for less than it was budgeted. That is exactly what MIDH has done. They had considerable savings that they could use in other areas.”
We will have more for you on the inauguration in Thursday’s news cast.
