And turning now to the other main subject that the PUP addressed today, it's the Arguelles Brothers, Carlo and Daniel, the principals of Integrated Environments - an architecture and design firm which the PUP says has benefitted handsomely from 12 years of UDP rule, securing contracts valued in the tens of millions of dollars.
A fellow architect, PUP Deputy Leader Julius Espat led the takedown against his professional colleagues with a taking them down, per square foot:
Julius Espat - Western Deputy Leader, PUP
"We came up with some information that was forwarded to us from the Government of a contract for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Belmopan. What is peculiar about this arrangement is that the contract is between the Government of Belize and IE, which is owned by Daniel and Carlo Arguelles. The contract was definitely not approved by the National Assembly, because we both sit in the House. But, what is most peculiar is that any contract that is awarded by the
Government of Belize, the resources that are used for that contract should be in the Consolidated [Revenue] Fund, and from the Consolidated [Revenue] Fund, it is paid to the contractor. We understand that this project is financed by the Government of the Republic of Taiwan, but what is alarming is that the money was not deposited into the consolidated fund. The money was deposited directly into the accounts of the professionals or contractors/IE. This, Party Leader, gives us a total of about 14.9 million dollars, which was awarded. Even though it was a grant, it is public funds, and therefore, it has to follow the normal procedures that are required under the Finance and Audit [Reform] Act."
"I looked at the size of the building. We're talking about a building of 25,000 square feet. And then, I started to call my colleagues in the construction industry: architects, engineers, contractors. And I did a survey as to what would the most expensive, local, high-end structure cost per square foot. The highest number we came up with, including fees, landscaping, furnishings, and everything, of a building of about 25,000 square feet, would be about $280 per square foot. You calculate a building of 25,000 square feet, you times it by $280 per square foot, at the high-end, and it would give you an approximate cost of 7 million dollars for a building of this type."
Eamon Courtenay, SC - Legal Advisor, PUP
"A grant by the Republic of China/Taiwan of monies to Belize is public funds. The 14.9 million dollars, donated [by] Taiwan belongs to the Belizean people, not to any private company. By Section 114 of the constitution, all monies raised or received by Belize must be deposited in the Consolidated Revenue Fund, or a special fund established by law to receive such monies. It is unlawful. It is unconstitutional for public monies, donated by Taiwan to be paid directly to IE."
"It is difficult to understand why it is that a government that has made a pledge to good governance and transparency will have found a reason to enter into an arrangement in which 15 million dollars, donated to Belize, was not deposited in the Consolidated Revenue Fund, was not deposited in government accounts."
We'll have the response to that allegation shortly - but, continuing with Espat's architectural attack, he says the work should have been shared up amongst the profession, rather than concentrated at I.E.
Julius Espat - Western Deputy Leader, PUP
"Last night, some fellow colleagues of mine sent me a breakdown, and it says here, some of the projects and contracts awarded to International Environments, IE - Carlo and Daniel Arguelles by the United Democratic Party, under Prime Minister Dean Barrow, and in collusion with the Belize Infrastructure Limited. And they're listed, BIL. They listed, as far as they could find, the projects that this company was involved with, under the United Democratic Party."
"So, we added all up. It comes up to a total of 103 million dollars that has been awarded to one single company. And I said, alright, let's calculate how many professionals and contractors are in the country. So, I went into the Association of Professional Architects of Belize, and I looked at the registry. There are 40 official, registered architects in the country. Then, I looked at the engineers association, the APEB. There are 102 qualified engineers who are resident in this country, and numerous, and hundreds of potential contractors that have the professional expertise who could have done all of this work. And we could have shared the money equally among our Belizean professionals and contractors."
