Last week 7NEWS broke the story about a piece of land near the Corozal border which government sold to the Corozal Free Zone Management Agency for $10 only to have the CFZMA turn around and resell it three days later for $1 million, raking in a cool $999,990 in profit. Critics say that million dollars would have done well in the coffers of a cash strapped central government. In their defense, gob says there was no sale really and it was simply a transfer from what is characterized as one government body to another. Deputy Prime Minister Hon. John Briceno explained as much today, saying that instead of cutting the free zone a check, GOB handed over the land title.
Hon. John Briceno, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Lands
“I think it’s a controversy that you guys are trying to create. Let’s be frank, the facts speak for themselves. What government decided, as it was a discussion in the Cabinet, was to transfer the land that housed the Customs and Immigration Department in the Santa Elena border. They decided to transfer the title onto the Commercial Free Zone. Once that was done we realized, also, under the National Lands Act we cannot give land free. And that is what happened, if you remember, between the 1993 to the 1998 UDP government when they gave away a piece of land to themselves, to a political party, for free. We know that is not allowed under the laws. What we did was we passed it on to them for a token price of $10. It went from one government body to another government body because the Commercial Free Zone in Corozal is owned by government so I don’t see what is the problem.”
Keith Swift,
But the $999,990 from the sale did not go into the consolidated fund. It did not go into the government treasury.
Hon. John Briceno,
“But it comes down to the same thing at the end of the day. The Commercial Free Zone is a government entity. It is provided funds from government. What they did as, I understand it, was put it out to auction and several companies put in a bid for the land. There is this group that won the bid for $1 million. That $1 million then went on to the Commercial Free Zone for them to be able to continue to run their operations. If the Commercial Free Zone did not get that money from the sale of that land then the consolidated fund from government would have had to write out a check for them to continue their operations at the Commercial Free Zone. So what is the problem?"
Keith Swift,
So the Commercial Free Zone is in need of money then?
Hon. John Briceno,
“Every department that we have in government needs money. Which department does not need money?”
Keith Swift,
But you continue to defend this when people would say that government being under the fiscal constraints that it is under now, they could have used that $990,000. The Treasury would have done well with that money. What would you say to that?
Hon. John Briceno,
“Well there are so many ways that we can use it. The point that I want to bring across to you today is that at the end of the day government would still have to find monies for the Commercial Free Zone. We cannot afford for the Commercial Free Zone to shut down because we have hundreds of Belizeans depending on their jobs there; we have probably have over a hundred Belizeans that have invested in the Free Zone. So we as a government have to be responsible enough and have to find funding to be able to keep them going.”
The land was auctioned off to the Monte Carlo group which is building a casino on the spot where the Customs and Immigration building formerly sat.
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