On Friday we first aired details of the Carnival's contract with the government and since then those in the industry and in politics have been coming to terms with a long and sometimes staggering list of concessions made to the largest, wealthiest cruise company in the world. From May, the opposition has been requesting to see the contract and speculating on its contents. Well today, Opposition Leader Dean Barrow said the real thing confirms his party's worst fears:
Hon. Dean Barrow- Leader of the opposition
"Well clearly our worst fears have been realized. The contract exempts Carnival from compliance with the Hotel and Tourist Accommodation act which in turn would have required compliance with various other statues including the Environmental Protection act, the Public Health act and the Housing and Planning act. So in one fell swoop Carnival is exempted from compliance with the requirements of all those laws. There are just so many things wrong that one wonders how the prime minister could have signed such a contract and of course one in intrigued by what the cabinet directive now to renegotiate the contract means both in terms of the legal implications as well as the political implications."
Barrow also spoke about the arrangement that the government has negotiated with Royal Cruise Caribbean Limited, RCCL, the owners of the Fort Point Tourism Village. Up to April 29th when government signed the contract with Carnival, RCCL had an exclusive license to disembark all cruise passengers in the Belize district. To make up for what would appear to be a clear breach of the exclusive contract, government has now proposed to guarantee RCCL, the earnings from a head tax equivalent to 900 thousand visitors a year for the 16 years remaining on their contract. For-seeably, when it is invoked, that guarantee would have to be paid from the consolidated fund, meaning taxpayers' money. Barrow today told us that if that is the case, it's very regrettable:
Hon. Dean Barrow
"I'm not sure whether that is actually a done deal. If it is that is even worse than the Carnival contract although clearly the two things are related. It certainly would be cause, in my view, for the leadership of the prime minister, who's the one that signed the Carnival contract, and who presumable is agreeing to or has worked out this compromise with Royal Caribbean it would be grounds for the prime minister to go.