It's rated to carry 178 persons and is the biggest passenger boat in Belize but the "Belizean Dream" is making waves on more than just the high seas. It's at the center of what looks to be a bitter business dispute between discovery divers limited and a disgruntled part owner in that company, South African Peter Norquay.
As we understand it, Norquay has turned against his one time partner in Discovery Divers, David Gegg, and has become involved with a new company, Belize Paradise Limited with which he hopes to force his old company out of business and it seems he's gotten some friends in high places to help him do it. 7NEWS has obtained a copy of the provisional customs entry for the "Belizean Dream" vessel dated 13th February and it shows that even in times of revenue shortfalls, the Customs Department was more than lenient.
The declared value for the 65-foot catamaran is $1.8 million. It was shipped with other accessories with cost another $122,000. And while he does have a concession, there's no concessions that gives an exemption on 9% sales tax and 1% environment tax, meaning that the owners would have to leave 10% behind for government's coffers. But Belize Paradise didn't even have to pay that 10%, which would be $193,000; instead the company simply left behind a deposit of $150,000.
And while that revenue break is one thing, what is quite another is that the concession document published in the newspaper and the actual concession approved by Finance Minister Ralph Fonseca have very different specifications. The public document, published in the papers in October, shows a concession which allows for four boats built in Belize. But by February 13th that had changed to just two boats without any public notice. It may seem to be a minor variation, but it is illegal and hugely consequential because those four boats were never built in Belize and this very large one was imported from the United States with, as we noted, virtually no revenue going to government which it seems, is just fine with the Minister of Investment who signed the concession.
As we said that's just part of the beef in what promises to unfold into another round of hostilities between major players in the big money cruise tourism business.
