Senator Mike Peyrefitte: $20 Million Loan from S.S.B to D.F.C is Unjustifiable

Michael Peyrefitte

Among the first topics of debate on the agenda in the senate was a loan facility that the Development Finance Corporation has entered into with the Belize Social Security Board to provide financing for an ongoing mortgage finance program. The S.S.B. Board had approved the loan totaling twenty million dollars in June of last year. There were conditions put in place, including that monies would be dispersed in five tranches over a two-year period. The loan will be repaid quarterly over a twenty-five-year period at an interest rate not exceeding four point five percent.  After Leader of Government Business, Senator Eamon Courtenay presented the details of the loan, Lead Opposition Senator, Michael Peyrefitte objected to the loan in its entirety, saying there is no justification or need for the loan.

Michael Peyrefitte, Lead Opposition Senator

“Madam President, my first question to this motion is why? Why does the D.F.C need to borrow $20 million from Social Security Board? I don’t understand it. It’s not a little bit of money, but it’s not a hell of a lot of money to finance one of the central characteristics of this government’s promise to the people because this money will be dispersed over a period of two years from how I read the motion. And so the question is, why can’t the government just simply budget for this money over the next two years or the next two to three years? Why do you need to borrow the money? Left Social Security Board money along man. Unu can’t help unuself. You can budget for this $20 million over two to three years, and therefore the DFC doesn’t have to be indebted anymore, doesn’t have to be more government borrowing from a statutory body for which Madam President, the Social Security Board, should be investing in public utilities. The social and security board should be investing in treasury bills, DFC investments. The DFC has proven to be not a CF investment.”