Chris Coye Walks Out of Senate Hearing, Prompting Adjournment

Next up was Senator Chris Coye, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance. He showed up with his law partner and fellow senator, Eamon Courtenay, from CourtenayCoye LLP. Skipping the formalities, Coye dove straight into a prepared statement and then made a quick exit from the hearing. As he read from his document, he started by explaining how he first found out about the Definitive Agreement.

 

Chris Coye, Minister of State, Finance

“I became aware of Portico Enterprises Limited and its plans for a new cruise port like almost everyone else, through the news media several years ago, when the UDP administration signed an MOU with Portico. On change of administrations, it was certainly a policy and a priority of this new government to encourage and facilitate new investment in Belize with a view to cause long term sustainable human development, particularly those investments that would bring in much needed foreign exchange and generate substantial employment. It was therefore promising to see an investment of this scale and nature being contemplated with reputable companies like Boskalis, one of the largest dredging companies in the world. This gave credibility to the Portico project. In late 2022, Portico through its attorneys, requested that Government honor the undertaking set forth in the Definitive Agreement signed in 2020 by the past UDP government to enact a law containing the various concessions as promised under the said agreement. I believe I received a copy of the Definitive Agreement in early 2023.”