Tonight there is much new information to report on the cancellation of the contract between Government and BELIPO. As we reported last week, government maybe apparently very eager to cancel the contract, used police enforcement to go into the private Companies Registry and install a government collector. We have also learnt that they fired the manager, who is Solicitor General Elson Kaseke's wife.
Well after that show of force, government has entered into negotiations with BELIO to legally cancel the contract for BELIPO and its subsidiary the Belize Companies Registry Limited. Both are 15 year contracts and the BELIPO contract has 11 years remaining, while the Registry contract has 13.
A part of that cancellation is the settlement deed and the UDP today released a signed draft of the document. We say signed draft, because only the government side has signed it; BELIPO part owner David Jenkins has not. But that it has the signature of senior advisor in the Ministry of Finance Joe Waight and what it concedes to is incredible. The draft agreement says that, "the agreements were executed without proper authority" and were "repugnant to the constitution" and are "therefore invalid and unenforceable." That means that as former Attorney General, Godfrey Smith negotiated agreements without authority and illegally.
It's an incredible conclusion and today the UDP pounced on it and declared that Godfrey has to go. The opposition leader spoke to us today repeating the allegations in the government drafted settlement deed.
Hon. Dean Barrow,
"The agreements signed by Godfrey Smith were signed without lawful authority, were contrary to law, repugnant to the constitution, did not therefore bind the government, and in consequence all money collected by the Companies Registry and the Intellectual Property Office, which Mr. Smith contracted with, were collected illegally. That is without any ambiguity, it is a remarkable statement, and it clearly indicts Godfrey Smith."
Jules Vasquez,
We understand there is a second settlement deed which removes these offensive or these remarks or these conclusions which make a very severe indictment of the conduct and performance of the former Attorney General. The new settlement deed is devoid of those conclusions.
Hon. Dean Barrow,
"I don't think that helps either government or Mr. Smith because the original settlement deed containing these damning indictments is signed by Joe Waight, the principal advisor in the Prime Minister's Minister of Finance, with the full authority of the government of Belize. Naturally because that settlement deed has now become public, government and Mr. Smith will have to scramble to ensure that the stunning revelation in the settlement deed would now be removed. But there can be simply be no counter to the fact of the government of Belize having officially signed off on a deed that contains those declarations."
Jules Vasquez,
We have obtained evidence which indicates that as a Attorney General Mr. Smith acted with approval and on the directive of those in his own Cabinet. The settlement deed and the UDP release claims he acted without authority and therefore you have concluded he should be fired. If you were to see the evidence to show that he acted on the directive of those in Cabinet, would you rethink your position and say that in fact the problem is greater than just Mr. Smith?
Hon. Dean Barrow,
"I certainly wouldn't rethink the position of asking for the head of Godfrey Smith. There is no getting around that settlement deed and its clear and ambiguous unequivocal language. That settlement deed could only have been prepared by one of the government's lawyer on the instruction of the government."
Jules Vasquez,
Could the settlement deed have misspoke, if it said he acted without authority and there is evidence in the Cabinet minutes signed by the Cabinet Secretary that he acted on the directive of the Cabinet?
Hon. Dean Barrow,
"But how could the settlement deed misspeak? This is a settlement deed prepared by government's extremely competent lawyers and signed off by the principal advisor in the Ministry of Finance. So that settlement deed, and in fact the signing of the settlement deed by Joseph Waight must have had the authority and the approval of the Prime Minister. It appears that there is now a kind of happy combination of circumstances, a kind of happy confluence where the public's cry for the head of Mr. Smith is being facilitated and perhaps promoted by colleagues in Cabinet who, for whatever reasons, feel that that it is a demand that ought in fact to be met. As far as the UDP, and I believe the public is concerned, on the basis of that settlement deed Mr. Smith ought to be hung, drawn, and quartered."
As we noted in the interview, there is a second settlement deed now on the table and this one has not been signed by either party. Most notably it does not contain those vastly condemnatory declarations on government's part. In fact, it only contains a reference to, "both parties adopting irreconcilable positions." Also, as mentioned in the interview, 7NEWS has obtained signed and approved Cabinet minutes which state that, "the Attorney General advised Cabinet that following an earlier directive, his Ministry had taken steps to outsource company and trademark services." After that executive decision, the bill received legislative approval in the National Assembly.
That bill and those minutes duly ratified by the Cabinet secretary means Cabinet approved the privatization, and in fact the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance knew about the lavish terms of the contract, including the consular status exemption because in September of 2003, the Ministry of Finance approved the waiver of all duties and sales tax for a Rav 4 for BELIPO.
All this demonstrates clear executive approval which now looks a lot like aggressive hand wringing and distancing from what was a collective decision. But as we understand it, while Cabinet approved the decision, it did not approve the contracts. But, we should note that in the Musa administration, it seems Ministers are not obliged to bring contracts to Cabinet, and that applies from the Carnival contract, to the Intelco contract, to the Prosser/BTL contract.
