The National Free Zone Authority, it's the governing body for all five designated free zone areas across Belize. Like any statutory body, its Chairman is a government CEO and is appointed by the Minister; more than that, like any statutory body it should have majority representation from government. But today, the Vice-Chairman of the Free Zone Authority Luke Espat claims he hijacked the NFZA from government control because he had to.
Espat called a meeting of the authority to object to the result of elections held in the free zone on Monday. In that election, Espat's buddy and fellow PUP old-schooler Winston Smiling was jilted when he lost the election that would have given him a seat on the board of directors breaking an uninterrupted four year streak. In fact Smiling not only lost the election, he came in dead last. But the former Chairman says he was dealt a bad hand. Today, Smiling and Espat, along with zone developer Arturo Lizarraga held a press conference to state their grievance. Here's what they had to say.
Luke Espat,
"We consider the elections to have been null and void, principally that. Two that the Minister calls a meeting and appoints a Chairman to the National Free Zone Authority and call meetings for the past eight months since his appointment as Minister has totally ignored this authority and went on to act independently as Minister responsible for Free Zone, knowing fully well that recent, before his appointment, the law was passed incorporating the NFZA Board's Authority. The last part of the release deals with the appointment of one Mr. Sunil Sadarangani as the Minister's representative on the Corozal Board. That again, we have categorically made it clear through a statement that we consider that appointment null and void as the Minister's appointment as per the law has to be someone from the Ministry. It is against the law. The law is clear. His responsibilities under this new law are clear."
Jules Vasquez,
Why would a Minister, to your mind, act in this way?
Luke Espat,
"Well I would not want to get into that because his pattern of behavior over the past recent years has shown this kind of behavior. So it is no strange thing to me."
Jules Vasquez,
You've been a member of the Board for four years and you came in dead last in the election on Monday. Is this a case of sour grapes, that you and your friends have hooked up and say, we won't go out like that. We will fight it,' even though you lost the election free and open?
Winston Smiling,
"On the contrary Jules if you permit me, I wanted to use this afterwards, but if you permit me I will need to start, since you posed your questions that way. In my presence I have over sixty duly signed proxy from the businesses in the zone."
Jules Vasquez,
So you're saying that the Minister's representative and the Minister himself created a situation which enforced the fact that you would use by not allowing your proxy votes.
Winston Smiling,
"That is precisely right and furthermore denying the rights of these companies who gave me these votes to participate, because 99% of these companies that I have here, I could not reach for them to come up. So they did not vote. If all of these people had cast their votes, the results would have been different; totally different.
I would like to further state that when I encountered this problem on Monday morning, the morning of the elections, when I attempted to use about 8 or 10 of the proxies, in the first casting of votes, I was stopped by Mr. Hugh O'Brien who told me that I cannot use them. I turned to the CEO and said, 'CEO please explain to Mr. O'Brien that we have cleared this with the Prime Minister and that they are valid.' The CEO has not responded to what I request of him to Mr. O'Brien.
They are all part and parcel of the one team. So I then decided to walk outside the room. I called the Prime Minister's office and Mrs. Mac answered me and I said, 'I know the Prime Minister is in Cabinet but please slip a note to him saying I need to speak with him urgently.' Within five minutes the Prime Minister called me on my cell phone. I told him what is happening and he said to please put Mr. O'Brien on the phone. I called Mr. O'Brien and he came and we went outside the office to the back. I told him the Prime Minister is on the phone and I handed him my cell phone and I stood there. His words, and I quote, 'there are different interpretations of the law,' Obviously the Prime Minister must have told him about the ordinance, 'and Prime Minister until I could get a different directive from my Minister, what I have told Mr. Smiling stands,' and he closed my phone. He handed me and walked away.
He handed me the phone and went inside and the elections continued. So I was hoping that the Prime Minister would have gone into the room and called Mark Espat to tell Mr. O'Brien. But apparently Mark Espat was not about Cabinet or something because I didn't get back the Prime Minister, he didn't return the call and when I realized what was happening, there was a short Cabinet meeting and the Prime Minister left the country."
Jules Vasquez,
In your opinion, the Free Zone was governed by two Ministers previously, the Prime Minister Said Musa and then Ralph Fonseca took over. Would this have happened under those two Ministers?
Winston Smiling,
"Not at all because I have contested two previous elections before this and proxies were allowed to be used. I even made known to Minister Espat and he said that was then and this is now. He is saying that proxies will not be allowed. He is not going to entertain any proxies because by using proxy, the elections wouldn't be fair, everything would be in my favor. I said to him that this is the choice of the business community in the zone."
Jules Vasquez,
So is this a conspiracy against you?
Winston Smiling,
"Yes, that is so."
Luke Espat,
"We are responsible businessmen in this community and take this government to challenge, not the Minister because the Minister is a functionary of the Cabinet, and we expect that the Prime Minister will deal with this matter because we have asked for an appointment with the Prime Minister who is supposed to be arriving today or tomorrow. And if the Prime Minister does deal with it then I will personally take legal action to have it resolved. I am going to take it to the Supreme Court."
