Southern Belize Needs Your Help!

[Downing]

Agreed.

Next up, the Blue Hole. Is it safe? Is it worth it?



P.S. Wonder how those BH rules from the BTIA, due out at the end of March, are coming along. Anyone heard anything?

 

[flots am]

Flots am, I'm aware of that and more. Shall we all just turn a blind eye to everything because of all of the other "things" that are wrong, damaging to us all not just little tiny Belize?

You should go on an educational speaking tour around Belize. Teach the rascals not to be rascals. Teach the corrupt to not be selfish. Educate the masses (I use the term loosely) on how to resist the corruption and become MBAs.

I don't think I've read about many "Rascals" but Belize is the sixth most violent country in the world

I'm thinking a little island that brings in tourists and money wouldn't be such a bad thing.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Political Directorate Brings NCL to The Table For Lesson in “Realpolitik”
posted (May 22, 2014)

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On Tuesday night in Independence Village, the Cabinet Subcommittee on investment organized a meeting with Colin Murphy, Norwegian Cruise Lines. The purpose?: to get the four UDP standard bearers and their stalwarts from the south on the same page as the Cruise Line because they say they've been left out of the loop, both in terms of jobs and information. And while they are out of the loop, they believe that the four PUP area representatives have positioned themselves to get the inside track. The issue was raised at a UDP National Party Council meeting on Saturday - and by Tuesday the meeting was set up. Minister of State Mark King was there and he told us it was to open a channel of communication - and he went on to say it's a channel he has used himself:Hon. Mark King
"What I know I was particularly invited in the meeting for was to engage those partners from NCL in terms of alongside BELTRAIDE ministry and the ministry of local government in terms of investment and other factors to see how we can engage them to see what it is their timeframe to roll out and how it is we can engage the elected representatives of the people down there to communicate with them, a communication barrier with them."
"In terms of the people we represent we try to open up communication lines for them so there is no barrier between them and the investor."
Jules Vasquez
"As I understand it, it was to try and tell the UDP caretakers and UDP supporters who were there as well that if you don't try and aggressively court Norwegian Cruise Lines UDPs will not end up with all the jobs. Am I right?"
Hon. Mark King

"You kind of twist it there, but what I can say is that we as a UDP government, we as a mass party, we have a lot of supporters. We look after all Belizeans in general, but of course with any mass political party you look after UDP first, you look after Belizean second and you look after PUP last - I am straight up like that, I don't have anything to hide from the media. At the end of the day that is your concept that we went to do that. I didn't say we went to do that."
Jules Vasquez
"Is there any process where it will be that you all have told Mr. Murphy of Norwegian Cruise Line that "we eat first." We are the government which is enabling Norwegian Cruise Line...we are facilitating this investment and so our party must eat first. Was that clearly communicated?"
Hon. Mark King
"I don't think that was the idea of the meeting any at all. I think the idea was to open up the communication lines of the charter roll out timeframe for NCL and the people were having concerns. What that timeframe would be and how they would go about applying for jobs and stuff like that. It wasn't anything to say go and put any kind of ultimatum on NCL. If we would do that to any investor, that would be very wrong of us."
Jules Vasquez
"You are also a business person, you have Brint Security, are you trying also to secure for yourself contracts with NCL for security contracts for Malacate/Harvest Caye that sort of thing?"
Hon. Mark King
"Let me tell you, I am not hiding anything from the media, I am definitely sure I've been in contact with NCL way before I even met Mr. Murphy and anybody - I had sent a request for security for them. I have received one email from their headquarters out of Miami - I've explain to them that my company would have interest in that. Like I've said, I've told the media, I've told the cabinet that I have a company long before I join politics and that has to do with my business - the way I live life before and that is the way I will live life after I left politics, so yes I have applied to NCL, they have given me nothing, they have said we will look at your proposal and that's as far as we are."
Jules Vasquez
"Do you see it as a conflict of interest that you are acting in both capacities as a representative of the government and a private business owner who is trying to secure a contract?"
Hon. Mark King
"Absolutely not. I don't see it as a conflict because that is my right. That is my right as a Belizean, that is my right as a business man. If PUP was in there and one of them had a business, one of them would apply anyway. So as far as I am concern I have the right to run my company. I have the right to apply for government contract just as seen in the courts. I have the right to apply to anything that is public as long as I give it to public knowledge, I am not hiding anything. PUP come, UDP come, Belizeans come and they qualify to be in that security element - Belizeans are getting hired through Brint Security if is for Mark King or not and Brint Security does have its board of directors and its protected under a company limited status, therefore it's not just necessarily for me - it's for all Belizeans. The amount of Belizeans I hired through Brint Security on a monthly basis is a lot of people at work."
Jules Vasquez
"You said earlier you can't give an investor an ultimatum that would be inappropriate. But I would imagine Norwegian Cruise Line is clear that Mark King is a part of the government of Belize and it is their interest to continue to maintain good relations with the government of Belize because this Dean Barrow government is the one that made Norwegian Cruise Line happen at Harvest Caye."
Hon. Mark King
"Yeah but Mark King is very clear that also I have a life to live and I have bills to pay and I have children to take care of and I have Belizeans to hire - so on that end I am very clear that I will apply to any international interest, any local interest, any government interest in terms of tendering for security - that is my business."
This evening we spoke by phone to Chair of the Cabinet Investment Committee Godwin Hulse who chaired the meeting. And later in the news, you'll hear his take on it.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

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BTIA Gets Their First Day In Court Against NCL
posted (June 30, 2014)

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Today was first day in court in which the Belize Tourism Industry Association is trying to block Norwegian Cruise Line's mega cruise development on Harvest Caye in Southern Belize.As we've reported on numerous times, BTIA contends that the Department of Environment rushed through the public consultation process on the project, and pushed through a development which wasn't environmentally sound.
Justice Abel heard the first of their attorney's arguments today, and after the session, we asked Godfrey Smith to explain it to us:
Godfrey Smith, Attorney for B.T.I.A.
"In a nutshell we're saying at this stage we just have to show the court that we have an arguable case that the DoE and the NEAC made a mistake. They made a mistake, in layman's terms, by not recommending a public hearing when the law has a list of factors that should be considered in deciding whether to have a public hearing. So the environmental law lists like the magnitude of the project, the complexity of it, the magnitude of the investment, whether there is a deep interest in it by the public. We are saying all of

these things existed, therefore the decision makers ought to have recommended a public hearing. But perhaps more egregiously, we are saying that before they could have gone on to consider whether to approve the EIA, they ought to have complied with the statute which says you must give the public two full weeks' notice to get their comments together and submit it. When you look at the time when the EIA was submitted - 21st of February and the date when it was considered and approved by the DoE, which I believe was the 4th of March...two weeks hadn't expired so they were rushing the thing and doing it in breach of the law which is set up there to make sure that the public has full opportunity to participate."
The case returns back before the court on Wednesday.

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[Ralph Capeling]

BTIA: Partial Victory Over NCL In Court
posted (July 2, 2014)

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The Belize Tourism Industry Association scored a partial victory in the Supreme Court this evening. After two days of arguments, Justice Courtney found granted the tourism NGO leave to file for judicial review on two of four grounds relating to the decisions of the National Environmental Appraisal Committee and the Department of the Environment on the environmental impact assessment for Harvest Caye. It is partial relief making way for a full claim of judicial review. Here are comments from the opposing attorneys, Godfrey Smith for BTIA and Eamon Courtenay for Belize Island Holdings, which manages the Harvest Caye project for Norwegian.
Eamon Courtenay - Attorney for Belize Island Holdings
"The judge granted partial relief to Belize Tourism Industry Association, so that they are able to argue some of the grounds. The judge knocked out some of the substantial grounds."
Godfrey Smith - Attorney for BTIA
"What happens now is that we then have to go and file more papers to bring what's called the claim for judicial review, because this is just an application for permission. We got pass the threshold, and now, we have to file papers, and the dates for when that will come on is unknown at this time."
So what happens next? Does work on the very high profile project have to stop and wait for the courts? The developers say they already have an environmental compliance plan signed off on by the Department of the Environment – and that means proceed. But if the plan is based on a flawed EIA process – then what happens?
Courtenay and Smith differ widely on this point:
Godfrey Smith
"You cannot say that the environmental compliance plan is a cure-all if it is based on an EIA that could be quashed. Meaning if - our argument was that DOE acted unlawfully in approving an EIA when certain things weren't done. If the court finds so and declares, yes, the EIA ought not to have been approve. It was done unlawfully, now null and void, and it's quashed, it would mean that the environmental compliance plan sit on something which does not exist."
Eamon Courtenay
"Let us re-assert that the project investment will proceed. The cases are very clear. Bacongo and Peninsula Citizens are very clear that even in circumstances where there is a statement that an Environmental Impact Assessment does not cover all the issues that were covered, what becomes critical is the environmental compliance plan, which is the binding legal document between my client and the Department of Environment. That document was not before the court. Now that the court has granted permission. That document is going to come before the court, and what the judge is going to see is that all the issues that Mr. Smith's client is saying were not dealt with in the EIA, are now covered in the Environmental Compliance Plan."
Godfrey Smith
"Certainly, after getting leave today, we will be consulting with the client to find out more information, and to find out whether there is any actions that require interim relief, like injunctions and so on."
Jules Vasquez
"So, you all are prepare to resist interim relief if the other side applies for it, such as an injunction?"
Eamon Courtenay
"Certainly, they are not going to do that."
Jules Vasquez
"They've indicated that they will do that."
Aaron Humes - Freelance Reporter
"It's an option."
Eamon Courtenay
"We will be here with full force and arms to deploy all the arguments to demolish that application. I think if at all, there is a serious intention to stop this project, the day has long gone where a serious person who wants to stop a project, should have applied for an injunction. We will argue very vigorously that that day has long passed, and that they are not entitled as a matter of equity, to stop the project."
There have been very few cases in which an NGO has been able to get an injunction to stop a development – as in the BACONGO case – but we'll wait and see.


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Norwegian Won’t Be Injuncted, Hulse says
posted (July 3, 2014)

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And while Puerto Azul's developers are "tripping the light fantastic" up the great red carpet in the sky, on the ground, the Norwegian Cruise Lines Harvest Caye Cruise Terminal Project is taking shape in real time.But, an obstacle appeared yesterday when justice Courtney Abel gave the Belize Tourism Industry Association a partial victory in the Supreme Court. He agreed with two of four grounds they advanced which brought into question the procedure of Environmental Impact assessment.
Now, they may ask for an injunction to stop work on the project - and today Hulse discussed that possibility:..
Jules Vasquez
"Is that a concern to you that the development which is already in swing one gathers or is in preparatory phase will now be stopped?"

Hon. Godwin Hulse, Chair - Cabinet Investment Sbcmte
"None at all, I don't think it will be stopped. I think that what BTIA is doing is that they're using all efforts which is their right to ensure that according to them everything is done properly. They have a concern that the EIA process wasn't proper. That is what they are saying. We think otherwise, but if the court decides that it wasn't proper…it doesn't mean the project stops you know…what it means is that you do it over and you do it properly. That can be done in a very short time. But this project will go ahead. Government has sanctioned this. This project has met all the criteria. This project is important to the government and the people of the south and it will proceed."

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