And we asked the Prime Minster about that 75 million dollars in preference shares yesterday. Government and SSB have to buy it up - but reports say Social Security is having second thoughts abut the Bailout for BEL:
Jules Vasquez
"Do you all expect Social Security to buy up that $75 million? Because I hear there's resistance in Social Security."
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"It's not $75 million. I think it's less than 75. The government is putting up their portion. And so if you and I are partners in this business and money is expected to put in, then both parties have to put in their shares. I don't know if there's, I've not, nobody have informed me from Social Security that there's resistance, but the difference between preferred shares and common shares, as you know, and these shares are your paid interest."
"So Social Security will be making monies from that. And the most important point is that no government of Belize can allow BEL to go broke, to go bankrupt."
"We have to keep the lights going. So it is the responsibility of us at the end of the day, to people to keep going. And how can we do it? Using tax dollars is certainly not something that we want to do."
"But then the other way could be is then to be more efficient and probably to look at the rates."
Jules Vasquez
"But is social security compelled, required to buy in? Like, are you putting that kind of pressure on them?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Really, I don't know. That's the lawyers to decide. I don't know. But we're hoping that they would do the right thing, that they would participate, because again, the government will guarantee. Just like how we guarantee social security, the government guarantees social security."
"Government will have to guarantee."
