Earlier this month Rupert Marin, the owner of the defunct Sanitation Enterprise Limited, asked the Supreme Court to garnish government’s subvention to the Belize City Council. That is because City Hall owes Marin $1.7 million from a 2006 default judgement. That problem is that the City Council wasn’t paying and Marin was hoping the Supreme Court could force the City Council to do- by basically taking it out of its allowance from central government. His lawyer tried to convince Justice Minette Hafiz-Betram yesterday but this afternoon she delivered a judgement dismissing the application. So the City Council won – at least this round – but Councillor Phillip Willoughby says there is not much to celebrate.
Phillip Willoughby, City Councillor – Sanitation
“What we do have to do is within seven weeks come back to the court with a schedule or a payment plan to deal with our indebtedness to SEL. Whatever that figure that will be derived at, will be derived at by the council and the Director of Financial Services and then that will dictate how and what we can pay or when in a timely manner.”
Keith Swift,
Is this a victory?
Phillip Willoughby,
“No, we still owe, and we acknowledge that we owe, the SEL its monies. What they cannot do is directly access our subvention which is needed for the city, the running and maintaining of the city and its administration.”
Rupert Marin wasn’t at court and his lawyer was unable to tell us if he will appeal.
