After months of being one of government's most closely guarded secrets, 7 news broke the story of the carnival contract on Friday night. Tonight, the remainder of the 27 page contract between GOB and the new company known as Belize Cruise Terminal limited has reached our newsroom and here's a look at some of what it contains:
Jules Vasquez Reporting
Most notably, the contract states that it is for 20 years, but is renewable for another 10 years unless there is an outright default. Barring that default, it says that, quote "any refusal to renew the agreement shall be ‘unreasonable,'" which, to our reading, pretty much makes renewal automatic.
And for that thirty years, Carnival is only agreeing to a marginal increase in the head tax. Starting next year, government can increase the head tax by two dollars to seven us dollars. After that, in 2010, and for the remaining 24 years of the life of the contract, government can only order a maximum increase of 3% per year, which is only a few cents.
And that's the only increase or charge of any kind that government can charge Carnival, because the agreement says and we revert to the clause we quoted on Friday that during the thirty years, "neither GOB nor the BTB can impose any additional fees, assessments, impositions, charges or levies of any kind or nature."
And if that wasn't clear enough, the agreement goes on to say that BCTL will be entitled to all tax exemptions, just as if it were a company in the free zone. But apart form paying no taxes, Carnival will not even have to go through any red tape. Presently, cruise agents must apply regularly to the tourism board, for licenses for the ships they bring in. But this agreement bypasses all that and gives government that job; it says "GOB shall procure, on an annual basis...the grant...of a license for cruise ships to each of the Carnival Lines."
Overall it's a sweet deal for Carnival, full of concessions to the richest cruise company in the world. And those concessions were no doubt made in the spirit of fostering a sound investment, but for its part, Carnival never gave any guarantees, neither for jobs or for when it would open. And now, 6 months after that heady groundbreaking, with nothing still on the ground, and cabinet calling for a renegotiation, the question is when will the project take off?
As we reported on Friday night, key overnight tourism interests have indicated privately that they are considering a legal challenge of the contract. But for right now, government continue to try and renegotiate, specifically, by imposing a cap on the number of visitors that Carnival can bring to Belize.