There was a significant ruling handed down in the Belize Supreme Court and the
judgment could have far reaching effects in the battle between Michael Ashcroft
and the government of Belize. In the case of the Association of Concerned Belizeans,
Godwin Hulse, the Medical and Dental Union and the National Trade Union Congress
versus the Government of Belize – in which the Belize Bank was an interested
party, this morning Justice Minette Hafiz Bertram has ruled that the settlement
deed signed and finalized between the Musa administration and the Belize Bank
is unlawful under the Finance and Audit Reform Act because the agreement was
never approved by parliament.
Viewers will recall that originally, Belmopan had agreed to guarantee
of UHS obligations to the Belize Bank but that contract was later extinguished
by a settlement deed for $33.5 million. Belize Bank’s attorney Vincent
Nelson had argued that the settlement deed was not a loan because it did not
effect any borrowing. However, in her judgment, Justice Hafiz agreed with
ACB’s attorney Lois Young and found that even Belize Bank’s
President Phillip Johnson had stated in an affidavit that monies were advanced
to the government under a loan note.
So what’s the practical meaning of all this? Well firstly, it puts a
spanner in the arbitration proceedings currently underway in London which were
initiated by Belize Bank against the government over the UHS settlement deed.
According to Prime Minister Dean Barrow, even if the arbitrators don’t
take judicial notice of the ruling, the judgment would definitely come into
play if the Belize Bank secures a decision in its favor and attempts to have
it enforced in Belize.
Secondly and perhaps more interestingly, the ruling could bring an unexpected
payday for Belmopan. Remember the twenty million dollars the Taiwanese
government had given Belize to settle the UHS debt? Well, now that the
settlement deed under which those monies were paid has been deemed unlawful,
the Barrow administration has already instructed its lawyers to look into the
possibility of recovering that money from the Belize Bank.
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