And while the Cane Farmers Association fights internally, the body that would replace them is gathering strength. The United Cane Farmers Association scored a major courtroom victory today. The UCFA is a breakaway group of about one thousand cane farmers who formed an association and challenged the constitutionality of the Sugar Industry Control Act. Under the Act - farmers can only be represented by the Belize Cane Farmers Association. Well today in the supreme court instead of offering a defence - government and the Belize Cane Farmers Association asked for both sides to discuss an out of court settlement. Attorney for the UCFA Hubert Elrington spoke to us about the implications of today’s development.
Hubert Elrington, Attorney for UCFA
“They’ve apparently come to the conclusion that they can’t defend the case in the sense that the Sugar Cane Act is clearly unconstitutional and a whole new set of rules, a completely new Act will have to be put in place. But there will have to be time to get that done in an orderly way in the interest of everybody so the court has agreed to give the adjournment and took an undertaking from all parties.”
Wilfredo Magana, UCFA
“I think it is very clear that in that redoing of the process that the UCFA legally will exist as an operating body in the industry.”
Hubert Elrington,
“Apparently when they were drafting the Act they did not remember that we had a constitution because the whole of it is unconstitutional. My view is that the court would eventually have struck down the whole of the act, the entire act is bad.”
Keith Swift,
So you see today’s development as a victory?
Wilfredo Magana,
“Well I would see it as a benefit for all cane farmers and as a victory and I think the process of reconstructing the industry, there are a lot of questions that I think this is giving the cane farmers the opportunity to come together and to be a part of the ruling or the governing of this new act that we sure will have to be developed.”
The settlement has to be agreed on by September 23rd.
