Southern Belize Needs Your Help!

[Ralph Capeling]

Aboard The Jewel
posted (April 9, 2014)

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Norwegian Cruise Line's Harvest Caye project has been the source of controversy ever since talks emerged last year between the company and the Government to open the south cruise tourism. Opponents, principally from the Belize Tourism Industry Association say that cruise tourism undermines and devalues their big ticket item, which is overnight tourism.
So, to try to change the perception of cruise tourists as cheapos, Norwegian invited the media unto one of its cruise ships on a tour to show the public a little of what happens behind the golden curtain. Daniel Ortiz attended today, and he was duly impressed:

Daniel Ortiz Reporting
The Norwegian Jewel - this behemoth of a cruise ship, launched in 2005, is pretty much a floating world-class hotel and resort with 15 decks, 1,100 crew members from 60 different countries to manage it, and enough space to comfortably accommodate about 2,500 passengers.
When it was launched 9 years ago, this vessel was state-of-the-art, and today it still meets some of the strictest international standards in terms of service, technology, and its environmental footprint.

The inside is designed to be an escape, where those who can afford such a cruise, can enjoy months on the world's oceans and seas. Almost every single feature of this vessel oozes luxury, a feast for the senses, with a crew waiting to tend of every single need. It's an investment of $1.4 billion Belizean dollars you're looking at.
Kenneth Harstrom - Captain, Norwegian Jewel

"It's a lot of equipment here as you see, but this ship was built in 2005, and at that time, she was definitely the state- of-the-art. We had a lot of things which were new in the industry."

And with 12 more ships of this quality and standard, and 2 more being built with plans for full operations by 2017, NCL says they want to add something to the country's cruise tourism product.

Colin Murphy - VP, Destination & Strategic Development, NCL

"You notice that the ships all leave USA on a Saturday or Sunday, and they all arrive in the area around about the same time. So, time, speed, distance, Belize worked for us. We also thought that it was a fantastic destination, and a destination that was increasingly popular, and a brand of Belize that is becoming very well known in relation to eco-tourism. We felt that it was a destination where we can add something."

For, the BTB, what they see in this partnership with NCL and other Cruise Companies, is an increase in the country's revenue, thus a growth in GDP.

Valdemar Andrade - Director, Cruise and Regional Initiatives, BTB

"This tour is also bigger than just looking at the Norwegian investment, but at cruise tourism as a whole, and as incremental tourism for Belize. This year, we'll be getting about a million passengers passing through Belize City. On a whole, we get about 1.3 million visitors to Belize every year. We look at it as incremental tourism. We have a high and a low season, and we look at cruise tourism to bolster the whole economy of Belize. Of course, when you look at 83% disembarkation rate for the Belize City Port, that's about 800,000 people that we will probably be seeing this year, going through the village, going on tours, into the City, into the restaurants, and buying from the vendors. So, it really affect who needs it most. In Belize, we get an average spending from a cruise passenger of about $75 US - $150 Bze - a day, and each crew spends about $103 US - $206 Bze - a day. Now again, multiple that by 800,000 passengers, you can see the economic impact. In total, the economic impact is about $120 million Bze in 2013. This year we predict about $150 million."
One testimonial from a Belizean employee working with NCL for 6 years comes from Neal Hall

Neil Hall - Director of Gallery, NCL

"Every day, you wake up to a new challenge, most of the time, you wake up in a completely different country. You get to experience different foods, cultures, peoples and different ways of interact, and that's off the ship. On the ship, you have in excess of sometimes 60 different nationalities on board, and get to integrate yourself into their culture through their special events, through their way of speaking and interact with you as a person. So, it is a truly fantastic opportunity to work on a ship."

Colin Murphy - VP, Destination & Strategic Development, NCL.
"We've been calling in Belize since when, Valdemar? 1998, so we've been here a long time already. All we're doing is reinforcing our presence here. We're making an investment in Belize because we believe in Belize. We believe in the experience; really, what we're doing is locking ourselves into Belize. We're going to be around for a long time because we're investing here. We're putting our money where our mouth is, and we're going to make a fantastic destination that's really going to showcase the country beautifully."
Should it get all clearances, Norwegian's project would see the start of the construction of the cruise port on Harvest Caye as early as next year.

 

[koozemani]

"No. This is going to happen; we understand that they're not happy, and they've registered their complaint. Obviously, they're entitled to their opinion. They're entitled to take whatever action they think is necessary. We don't agree with them; we think they're wrong, and we will persevere. So this is - as the Prime Minister said in the House, this is going to happen, get used to it, and it is going to happen, and we believe that."

The most telling quote. Grab your ankles, and.....

 

[Ralph Capeling]

NCL’s ECP Is Complete. Next!
posted (April 16, 2014)

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Exactly a week ago, Norwegian Cruise Line's executives hosted a media tour on their luxurious cruise Ship, the Norwegian Jewel. It was to try to change the perception that cruise tourists aren't cheapos, and to show the Belizean public what their operation looks like behind the curtains.On that excursion, 7News spoke with Colin Murphy, the Vice President, of the cruise company's Destination & Strategic Development, and he basically despite the resistance being mounted by the opponents Harvest Caye project, "it is going to happen."
That's exactly the sentiment we got today when we spoke with Michael Singh, the CEO of the Ministry of Trade, who was present at the very initial stages of this project, when it first emerged.
Here's how he explained it:
Mike Singh - CEO, Ministry of Trade

"As of today the ECP has been completed by the Department of the Environment. NEAC has approved the project and the next phase as you rightly said is for us to enter into definitive agreement. We have been working on the terms of that agreement which will follow pretty much the terms of the MOU which has already been released. Once that definitive agreement has been done, at that point then the project really has the green light to move ahead."
"In my discussions with Mr. Murphy, he has indicated to me that they are ready today to start working and to start construction. Now that's a very important thing for us to know because it means that they may be ready for actual deployment of ships in the upcoming season which could be as early as October 2015 and that's what they are aiming for - to be in 2015/16 season. Now that takes a lot of work to get there because it's a lot of construction that has to happen. We have to prepare a lot of people. The small business center has actually been working in Placencia putting out workshops trying to help some of these small businesses to get ready for that investment so that they can form a part of the ecosystem that will support the activities of that cruise project."
"We are also pleased to note that they've also started a hiring program. We have gotten word of over 300 - 400 people that have been interviewed, job offers have been given to a couple hundred of them, I don't have the exact number. Unfortunately we are finding that not all of them can afford to pay the initial fees for them to take on because they have to do health checks - things that we do not major in the big picture, but for somebody who is unemployed that a difficult thing, so the government now is working out a program that we can actually help to provide support to those people, so that they can get ready because we are planning that those people once they go to work with NCL for the next year onboard the ships that they will come back and take jobs up within the project, so they will be well trained. Its all a win-win; we are training people for employment, we are training small businesses to take advantage, we are helping them to develop the product itself and we are making sure that all this is being done with a good level of economic and environmental sustainability."
Reporter
"The BTIA shared some concerns about the project. Are those concerns being considered?"
Mike Singh - CEO, Ministry of Trade
"Well they have written to the DOE and I can't really comment on that because I am not a part of responding on that. I will tell you my personal opinion, I believe the BTIA is doing a good job of keeping its eye on the best interest of Belize and I applaud them for pointing out things that I believe as a government we need to incorporate and make sure those things are dealt with."
Tune to tomorrow's newscast, where we'll put those difficult questions to the CEO that BTIA Placencia's President Stewart Krohn wants answered about the controversies surrounding the project's economic benefit to the country.


---------- Post added April 17th, 2014 at 07:30 AM ----------

NEAC Ignored; BTIA Will Take Them To Court
posted (April 16, 2014)

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And as we told you last week, about the letter from Belize Tourism Industry Association to NEAC Chair and the Chief Environmental Officer Martin Allegria that the environmental appraisal committee needs to rescind their approval of the Harvest Caye Cruise Port.President of the Placencia Chapter of the BTIA, Stewart Krohn, Confirmed to us Allegria responded to their attorney, Godfrey Smith. He said that not surprisingly, Allegria defended the decision to approve the Harvest Caye project, saying that they were well within the rights of the law to do so, which they did properly.
Krohn told us that a decision has been made by the BTIA to bring that court case where they will challenge NEAC's decision via judicial review proceedings.

 

[flots am]

"No. This is going to happen; we understand that they're not happy, and they've registered their complaint. Obviously, they're entitled to their opinion. They're entitled to take whatever action they think is necessary. We don't agree with them; we think they're wrong, and we will persevere. So this is - as the Prime Minister said in the House, this is going to happen, get used to it, and it is going to happen, and we believe that."

The most telling quote. Grab your ankles, and.....

Yeah, it really sucks when someone wants to bring jobs, tourists and money to a country that needs jobs, tourists and money.

Now please carry on with your regularly scheduled complaining.

 

[Downing]

If only it were that simple.

You might want to read Post 119.

There are legitimate concerns about the environmental impact this project is going to have on southern Belize. And it's not at all clear the number and quality of jobs that will be available to Belizeans.

Sadly, Belize has a history of being pushed around by larger, outside forces and screwed over by its own government. I'm not at all surprised that there's so much opposition to this.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Making Sense OF the NCL Economies
posted (April 17, 2014)

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Last night, we showed you the first part of our interview with Michael Singh, the CEO of the Ministry of Trade, where he explained that Norwegian Cruise Line's Harvest Caye Port project got all environmental clearances it needed. With the Environmental Compliance Plan completed, the project moves on the next phase where Cabinet will decided on a final agreement on the social and economic guidelines that the Company must adhere to so that they can get the final go-ahead.As we've told you, the Belize Tourism Industry Association has been against the plan claiming that it is not environmentally or economically beneficial to the country. They will challenge the Department of Environment's decision to give the project environmental clearance in court by way of judicial review proceedings. The President of BTIA's Placencia chapter has also offered strong resistance to the project on economic grounds. Yesterday, while had the opportunity, we asked Singh to address them, given that he has been present as a trade and investment promotion representative ever since the project first emerged. Here's our conversation with Singh on those economic concerns:
Daniel Ortiz
"25% of the employment is being asked to be reserved for candidates that NCL think its best. Now their concern is that those will all be fitted with international employment when they may be Belizeans who could fill those posts. How do you address that with them and NCL?"
Mike Singh - CEO, Ministry of Trade

"Very simply if you think about it, we are not foregoing the need for anybody to apply for a work permit and the labour laws will still apply. What we've said to NCL is that in cases where there is a need for technical workers that may not be available in Belize which is the way our labour law in written - that we would not be against having up to 25% of the workers of they are technical and that employment is not available in Belize that it would be allowed. That is a push back from what the labour law says; the labour law actually allows you to do 100% of technical people if they are not available in Belize. I think it's been mis-stated and I think it's been misunderstood what the intention is. Now NCL wants to hire Belizeans, their only concern why they ask us to put that in there is that in case they can't find the talent that they need for specific technical work that may be needed on the island that they would want the option to bring in employees until they can train Belizeans to take on that employment."
Daniel Ortiz
"The project will allow for a duty free emporium on the site itself which the BTIA is saying will exclude Belizeans persons of crafts from presenting themselves and their produce and their items for purchase."
Mike Singh - CEO, Ministry of Trade
"Again incorrect assumption. The MOU states that we will permit duty free shopping as long as Belizean companies are given equal opportunity to put duty free shopping. In other words what we are trying to avoid is what we have at the FSTV where every duty free shop there is Diamonds International and they have very clearly stated to us that they do not want that type of a project. As a matter of fact they are now working with us at the small business development center to create a pavilion for small Belizean businesses. They are also approaching food and beverage businesses in Belize to try to come up with concepts that are purely Belizeans operated by Belizeans, so the idea behind this project which we stressed very clearly with them is that we don't want it to be just another replica of FSTV or any other port where all you bring in are US brands or you bring in foreign brands. We are helping them to develop the local brands."
Reporter
"The head tax agreement: I've been getting conflicting reports one of which says that the only company which stands to benefit from that head tax agreement is NCL."
Daniel Ortiz
"Which they are saying will recoup its entire investment very short."
Mike Singh - CEO, Ministry of Trade
"The head tax issue is an issue that is almost an industry standard where if we are competing with other countries you will find that in reality what Belize is actually keeping of the head tax is more than most countries keep. The lines look at the head tax almost as an incentive for them to come in because they look at it as a means where they are operating a port. Remember did not have to build this port, so we've invited a foreign investor to come in and build a port and that port comes with a certain costs - we are giving them a concession to operate that port under a license. Any port will have a port charge. In other words if I were to invite an investor to come in, I'll give you an example; the Port of Belize, which is own by a non-government entity - that port charges port fees to cargo. Those port fees go directly to that port, nothing comes back to the government because that is where their revenue stream is - it comes from port fees."
The final agreement on the social and economic terms, should be completed for Cabinet to review at its next sitting. That meeting is scheduled to happen in the next 2 weeks.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

PLACENCIA BTIA PRESS RELEASE ON THE NCL MATTER

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Dear Members,

On Monday morning, May 5, at 10:00, The Belize Tourism Industry Association will be hosting a press conference at the Radisson's Altun Ha Room. At this event attorney Godfrey Smith will outline the case for judicial review we are filing against the Department of Environment over the proposed Harvest Caye Cruise Port. A number of speakers, from BTIA and other organizations, will also update the press on our continuing efforts to stop the project, which we believe is unsustainable on both environmental, economic and social grounds.
Based on recent public statements by officials of Norwegian Cruise Line and its associates in Belize, it is becoming increasingly clear that NCL is growing desperate to conclude a final agreement with Government as they know that the more time the public has to delve into the details of the project, the greater the likelihood that Cabinet will also discover that what is portrayed as economic salvation is in fact 25 years of servitude.
Unlike NCL, we cannot take the Media on a whirlwind tour of a floating pleasure palace. What we can do, however, is through the presentation of verifiable facts, show Belizeans that all that glitters is not necessarily gold. We look forward to seeing you on Monday.
For more information please contact Stewart Krohn, Placencia Chapter Chairman, at 610-1009 or stewart@cocoplumbelize.net.

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[chillyinCanada]

Wishing you all the best of luck.

 

[koozemani]

Thanks for keeping us updated Ralph.

 

[Edward3c]

So Belize is to remain a backwater state, turning down investment for future generations.