Caracol, it's considered the most significant Maya site in Belize, the crown jewel of the classic period, which, 15 centuries ago had its 30 square miles as home to an estimated 180,000. A special place singular in the Mayan Empire, but is it for sale or lease? This morning, word went out on the "Wave Radio Morning Talk Show" that government had agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding with private developers including Eugene Zabaneh, and an American Company West Group.
7NEWS has obtained a copy of the document and it shows 4 pages of the Memorandum of Understanding which would give a 99 year lease for an area of 25 square miles in and around Caracol which would be developed for tourism purposes. The document is not signed and Prime Minister Hon. Said Musa this morning stated emphatically that Cabinet has not approved it, but did concede that it is one of many proposals that are before the government. But those with experience in government tell us that a fairly detailed Memorandum of Understanding such as these shows that it is more than just a statement of intent, it's something that was being considered with some seriousness. But the PM flatly rejects that interpretation and he told us as much.
Hon. Said Musa, Prime Minister
"That's a completely false allegation that the government has entered in any agreement with Mr. Zabenah, West Group, or anybody else in respect of Caracol. Secondly, the government receives many proposals from time to time from different investors and potential investors. There has been a proposal presented to government but we haven't even considered it. We haven't even considered it. But what I can tell you is this: what I took to Cabinet yesterday was, and I got support for it - the entire Cabinet agreed, that what the government needs is a master plan. And so we have commissioned through the Minister of Tourism and Investment along with Natural Resources, the Attorney General's Ministry, and other players to work on getting a consultancy done to come up with a master plan for us to take a wholistic view of how we go about developing these ecologically sensitive areas. But to answer your question, there is absolutely no truth to this allegation about making any deal over Caracol."
NICH, which is responsible for the management of Caracol, has issued a statement saying that any development plan for Caracol or any site will only be approved after consultations with industry and other partners. One of those partners made their voice heard this evening. The BTIA issued a release congratulating NICH for its strong statement which it interprets as a rejection of the proposal. The release stresses that no private development of Caracol should be allowed.