While it was the headline, Godfrey Smith's political future was, in fact, the sidebar at today's press briefing, where the Information Minister fielded questions on a wide range of pressing government matters. Foremost among them is government's acute hard currency crunch. It's a situation GOB hopes to somewhat alleviate when it closes the near US$40 million BTL deal with Michael Ashcroft.
For the past two weeks, closing that deal has been stopped by an injunction secured by the Belize Communication Worker's Union. But tomorrow the government is optimistic that it will have a victory in the court when the Chief Justice announces his decision and the injunction will be lifted. With that Smith says, GOB hopes to close the deal within 24 hours of that judgement.
Jules Vasquez,
The last time you were here we discussed the imminent need that the government had for new money, hard capital, hard currency, which they needed to imminently close the BTL deal in order to secure it. That having not been closed, one month after it was urgently having to close, how urgent is it now?
Godfrey Smith, Minister of Information
"Just as urgent as it was then. Just as urgent as it was then. We hope that the decision will put government in a position to dispose of the shares as early as this week."
Jules Vasquez,
And you would expect then to receive between US$35 and US$40 million in hard currency from presumably Mr. Ashcroft?
Godfrey Smith,
"If the share purchase agreements that we prepared prior to going to House are obtained, then we go could basically along the lines that you have said. Why do we need to do it? Because of the international situation affecting our ratings, affecting confidence in the economy, and for all those reasons that you have so brilliantly written about in the past, that's why its still a matter of urgency for us to close the deal."
That configuration Smith refers to we imagine is that Ashcroft would buy government's entire 37% shareholding, sell E-com 10%, offer the unions 20%, and offer 5% to the public. In this regard, the E-com issue that is presently before the court bears very close watching. But who is E-com? Government has plainly stated that it is an Ashcroft company set we imagine to make money just like its owner, but now Ashcroft says it is owned by a charitable trust. What's the truth of it? Later on in our newscast we'll do the research to show you who really owns E-com.
