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In terms of legal action against the government of Belize, 2008 was a busy year in the courts. And that's why you may have forgotten who NEWCO is. That's the company which won an award of nearly 9 million Belize dollars against the government. The award was given by UNCITRAL, an international arbitration body which found that the Musa Administration had unfairly "boxed" NEWCO out of a contract it had to take over the private management of the airport. The contract was subsequently given to a group which had holdings of two Ministerial siblings.

NEWCO activated the arbitration clause, and was awarded 4.42 million US dollars in damages in June. It's a costly mis-step of the last government but the burden to pay it fell on the incoming government. And in July, Prime Minister Dean Barrow acknowledged the inevitability of having to pay the debt.

But according to a release from the Washington law firm retained to enforce the NEWCO judgment, six months later, Government has still not paid, and NEWCO is ready to play hardball to get its money. A release issued this evening says that NEWCO has initiated civil action in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to confirm and enforce the award naming the Government of Belize as defendant. Additionally, NEWCO will file Legal actions will be filed in the countries with which Belize has its major trading and finance relations.

Speaking with the Prime Minister late this evening, he said that the Government of Belize still does accept that it has to pay, but the terms must be worked out. First he says NEWCO is demanding full payment when the government can afford to pay in installments. Second, he says there is some dispute as to when the penalty interest starts to accrue. To that end, Government has secured an injunction in the Belize Courts until a declaration is gotten as to when the conditions are met to trigger the interest penalty phase. And thirdly, because NEWCO is a locally registered company, Government wishes to pay the award and any interest in Belizean dollars.