Today, the Association of Concerned Belizeans filed its action asking the Supreme Court to force the Prime Minister to declare the Universal guarantee illegal.
The argument is that under section 44 of the Constitution, the Prime Minister was not authorized to make such a guarantee without the knowledge of Cabinet. So that makes the guarantee invalid and to validate it, it would have to go to the House for approval - where it could fail to get the approval of a majority of the members.
The Prime Minister's political viability hangs in the balance, but so does $33 million owing to the Belize Bank. That's a large chunk of the Belize Bank's portfolio and the Bank won't let it go without a fight.
Proof of that came today when Chairman of the bank Phillip Johnson sent a letter threatening the Association of Concerned Belizeans. The letter says, "the bank does not accept that you are entitled to...intervene in a freely negotiated contractual arrangement and would strongly discourage you from doing so."
If continues: "in the event that you do decide to commence legal proceedings...the bank will...pursue the ACB and its individual members directly for all...loss which it suffers." It closes by warning that the ACB, should quote: "inform their...members, sponsors and lenders...so that these persons and organizations are...on notice of the associated risk exposure." And for good measure Johnson then characterizes the ACB as flimsy and superficial.
Strong words, and an indication of how zealously the bank intends to guard the $33 million associated with the guarantee. We have been advised that a similar letter of caution was sent to the Chamber of commerce, urging that organization not to join the ACB action. We don't know if that did the trick, but reports are that the Chamber Executive has decided against joining the ACB action.
But the ACB is undeterred and was today joined by the National Trade Union Congress of Belize. That umbrella group joins Senator Godwin Hulse who has entered in his own right and the Belize Medical and Dental Union.
So with that, those groups have asked the court to make a declaration of unlawfulness - arguing that the guarantee was unlawfully made by the Prime Minister and grant an injunction restraining the government from acting on the guarantee. It was filed at four this afternoon and the ACB and its related parties now await a date for a hearing.
And while that matter hangs ominously over the guarantee, 7NEWS has been reliably informed that the Belize Bank is moving swiftly to close in on its debt. We have received credible reports which say that the bank has written a letter to the Financial Secretary requesting payment of the Universal debt based on the strength of a settlement deed. That's a late evening revelation and we'll tell you more about it in tomorrow night's newscast.
