The Solid Waste Management Authority in Belmopan is a statutory body which comes under the Ministry of Natural Resources. And - as the name implies - it has a big job: to ensure that solid waste generated all across the country is properly managed.
But since Friday they haven't been able to do their job - because everything in their office from desks, to chairs to computers got crowfooted, along with their three vehicles which were taken on Thursday. If you're not familiar with the term, to Crowfoot an asset means to take possession of it to settle a judgement award which has not been paid.
The Crowfoot is on behalf of VISION ARCHITECTS & CONTRACTORS which won a half a million dollar lawsuit against Solid Waste on May fourth. With costs, it came up to 580 thousand dollars - and 21 days after the judgment - when no notice of appeal was filed, and no stay of judgement granted -Vision's attorney Naima Barrow wrote to Solid Waste basically asking "what's up". No answer was forthcoming so she wrote again - and again, no response. So, last week Thursday Barrow moved for enforcement: the court Marshall went and took the Authority's three vehicles, and then on Friday went back and took all the office equipment including computers. As is standard in such cases, the claimant plans to sell these assets to recover the half a million dollars owed to them in the judgement.
When we went to the Solid Waste office today - we saw the sign said "closed" - although the CEO in the Ministry, Dr. Percival Cho told us that it was just an oversight and the office was, quote, "opened and up and running." The CEO says the assets are public property - so they should not have been crowfooted - and that the Attorney General's Office is working on resolving that immediately. He says the Solicitor General also plans on appealing the judgement from Justice Courtney Abel because they feel there are errors. Of course the window to file an appeal has long passed, but Cho says that the Sol Gen's office has made an application to extend the time for appeal. But this is pending court approval, and even if permission is granted, that does not put a stay on the judgement which stands - as does the obligation to satisfy it.
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