And while anti-Ashcroft sentiment is high amongst the unions and politicians on both ides of the color bar, his bank is also reportedly having some difficulty settling the Universal debt with the government of Belize.
Last we reported, government was contemplating a deal to settle the $33 million debt by swapping it for anywhere between eight and eleven thousand acres of land on Northern Ambergris Caye. The wrinkle came in when negotiators for the bank requested some access to beach frontage - that government would have to acquire at millions per acre.
That condition has reportedly run into resistance within the Cabinet - and, from what we've heard, that deal is on the verge of falling through.
But whether it succeeds or fails doesn't put government or taxpayers in any better stead, because the Minister of Finance's 2002 guarantee for $33 million stands, and if the bank doesn't get it in a land swap, it may demand it in cash - meaning your taxpayer dollars.
And while all this happens at the executive level, at the operational level, the interim Ministry of Health Board has not taken over UHS - because the debt has not been settled. Small change for all that? The Universal takeover is stalled. We'll keep you posted.
