B.C.C.I. Says Inquiry Not Needed to Resolve B.S.I./B.S.C.F.A. Dispute

As we reported on Tuesday, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, B.C.C.I., has written to the Prime Minister, sharing its view that there need not be a Commission of Inquiry to delve into the private and sensitive business information of the Belize Sugar Industries Limited. The chamber was in agreement with B.S.I.’s attorney, Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, that such an inquiry would be invasive. The chamber’s Chief Policy Analyst, Joshua Pott shared with News Five that there are other ways to sort out a dispute of that nature between two entities.

 

Joshua Pott, Chief Policy Analyst, B.C.C.I.

“The parts of the Commission of Inquiry that deal with looking into the commercial dispute between the B.S.I and the B.S.C.F.A is not necessarily for the realm of the Commission of Inquiry. I think the other thing that needs to be understood is that what’s going on between the B.S.C.F.A. and the B.S.I is really a commercial dispute between two private entities. They’re both private sector entities. As a matter of fact, they’re both members of the Chamber of Commerce.  Their welfare is equally as important to us. Where a commercial dispute exists, there are mechanisms to deal with it. The parties can resort to a variety of alternative dispute-resolution mechanisms. Those things exist and we feel at the Chamber of Commerce that’s the better route for resolving the commercial dispute between these parties than having a commission of inquiry look into it.”