So while the paperwork has been done, up to newstime, David Novelo told us that none of his busses had been impounded. In the face of Chairman Borland's declaration, the Novelo brothers today pulled the one ace they've got left to play. Their attorney, Hubert Elrington filed for an injunction against the impoundment order. That injunction claims that they hold an exclusive contract to operate their runs which was signed by then Minister of Transport Max Samuels on November 17th of 2002. Their attorney Hubert Elrington says the contract is valid and enforceable.
Hubert Elrington, Attorney for Novelo Brothers
"What I know to exist is in fact a contract signed by both parties dated and in writing, very detailed and very specific, and that seems to me to be a valid document. If this contract is valid, if the government did in fact enter into this contract, and it appears to be a perfectly valid contract, then they have the right to go to court, which they have done this morning, and say to the court we need you to look at this contract and declare that this contract is binding upon the government. They take the view that if they have a valid contract in law, for 15 years, then the government has a duty to issue the necessary permits to them. We are not going to go out there to fight with the government, we are fighting through the courts, we have put in court actions and we hope that the government will do the same, that they will sort out the matter in the court. That is where it should be sorted out."
Alfonso Noble,
What would be your reaction if they come and impound your buses this afternoon?
Hubert Elrington,
"We will go to the courts as we have done. We are applying for an injunction, we have not gotten it yet."
Janelle Chanona, Channel 5
"So they can still go ahead and impound the buses."
Hubert Elrington,
"I suppose, if they wish to, they can still do what they think they have to do. But we are applying to the court for certain orders."
And while the Novelo brothers are looking to take their contract to court, they will also be taking another matter that they've long had an issue with. They claim that the receivership took possession of four bus companies that operate the shorter runs in Belize City and surrounding villages.
David Novelo,
"Our law firm is in the process and has taken the family's decision
that we will be suing the receiver for the revenue that has been collected illegally from these four companies, from himself that has been receivership, and as well that it comprise a substantial amount of equipment which he took illegally which now is no longer operating, that has actually been cannibalized. So therefore the family has taken that route of seeking legal justice through the courts in terms of the receiver taking these companies illegally."
But while the transportation industry is in disarray and on the verge of a crisis, what got us here is a $30 million loan granted to the Novelo family by the DFC to consolidate the transportation industry. For the first time today we got a hint of what happened to those tens of millions of dollars.
Hubert Elrington,
"A lot of people who ask question do so without having researched what actually happened. Remember the Novelo's Bus Company took over assets from other operators like the Zabenahs, they took over from Venus, they took over from others who were also operating. The $30 million that is talked about, for example $16 million of that $30 million went directly, immediately, to pay for the assets that were acquired from Mr. Zabenah. A major part of it went to pay for new equipment but those figures can be easily obtained. The real problem is that we tend to forget that there has been some real serious problems affecting the ground transportation industry of the country and nobody seems to be understanding that it is very very very difficult to find a formula under which anybody can operate this system profitably. This is a national problem that we have on our hands, a national crisis, and people, have to understand that.
If you have $30 million and you lend it out it is your duty to show that you did your proper studies. It is your responsibility to lend responsibly and I am saying to you that even if another person, or another group of companies, had had the loan, because of what has happened in terms of cost, especially fuel cost and other things that have occurred, it would have been quote impossible to operate a profitable system."
David Novelo,
"We feel that after we basically break down how the expenses went and what were the sequence of events then, and it is until then, the nation will realize what is the true core of the matter, the true problem, in terms of the national transportation. But at this moment we have to look at present and the future and how can we best be able to alleviate the situation for the commuters who are waiting to have service up here and at the same time see how we can deal with that debt and see at how minimum it can be (passed on) to the taxpayers. Our family feels that this national bus crisis has reached to a point where we are inviting the stakeholders, the banks and government, to once again sit at the table and let us fix this problem structurally. It's not about saying the Novelo family didn't know how to operate this industry, it is a situation whereby the components that were required to make this a viable project were never ever, the family never had an opportunity to be given. And therefore from the first few months of taking over this initiative, the family was destined to basically to meet failure. Even if the Novelo family wants to run away from National Transportation, just by the mere fact that we are indebted with that loan still we cannot get away from it."
Alfonso Noble,
Do you want to be at the helm, the Novelo family?
David Novelo,
"Well the Novelo family wish that we could complete the dream that we started, creating a national network and eventually owned and operated by Belizeans."
While David Novelo says that they wish to be back at the helm of Novelo's Bus Line he also says that the other bus company, National Transportation Limited will also remain on the road. That unstoppable force will meet the immovable object of the impoundment order very soon, and it's a situation we will continue to watch very closely.
