That's not all Briceno had to say about Fonseca's leader of the PUP, not at all. While discussing politics with his PUP confidant who recorded the private conversation, Briceno took him on a history lesson. He started discussing parts of the Opposition's recent past that still haunts the party, discussing key elements of the financial mismanagement of the Musa administration. Some parts of the conversation we are unable to air for legal reasons, but the allegations made are documented on public record. In some instances, Briceno goes as far as calling out some of his political colleagues.
What we can touch is a part of the recorded discussion he had weeks ago about a key moment of mismanagement of public funds which emerged in 2005. Viewers may remember when the story broke that the then Musa Administration gambled millions of dollars on a currency swap in the year 2000 in a deal which was overseen by Former Minister of Finance Ralph Fonseca. In that ill-advised move, some US $40 million dollars of public monies was placed in a bet that over the 5 year period which followed the Japanese Yen would weaken against the US Dollar. It happened the opposite way around and Belize ended up losing 6 million dollars just like that.
Briceno discussed this several weeks ago, reminding of the things which the public isn't likely to forget so easily about the last time his party was in Government:
Hon. John Briceno
"In 2004 we had the problem with G7… I didn't come to give you this history but it is important…..G7 Julian we had to do that they were leading the country into bankruptcy. I will give you one example you know what Ralph did one time? When government sold those two acres…he took ten million…they call it derivative against the Japanese Yen. If the Japanese Yen went up we will make so much money. The Japanese Yen will go down. What business we have to do that to begin with but he did it. One year later we discovered that we lost 5 million US dollars. Five million got lost like that.
For clarity we air an interview we managed to get with the then Prime Minister Said Musa on that currency swap loss. He was very abrupt in that press encounter:
Rt. Said Musa
"Net loss of about 3 million."
Jules Vasquez
"Sir, but do you hold yourself accountable for that?"
Rt. Said Musa
"No. That's why we have a central bank. They were the ones that recommended it. You want me to accept responsibility for all the decisions at the central bank?"
Jules Vasquez
"You are the person elected to manage the people's money."
Rt. Said Musa
"First of all, it occurred before I became the minister of finance, but the important thing is that it was a decision of the board of the central bank."
Jules Vasquez
"Would you accept now, that it was a reckless and ill-advised decision?"
Rt. Said Musa
"I would have to examine what were the circumstances at the time, the facts available to the board, to make such a statement."
Jules Vasquez
"However, now the people would have to pay for the loss."
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