It should have been just a session for basic legislative housekeeping in the Senate today, but it turned into a marathon and many sided debate over the merits and motives behind the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of the Foreign Arbitral Awards Motion.
As explained by the leader of government business, Eamon Courtenay, Belize is one of few countries that have not ratified the convention, and while Belize is already recognised as a signatory to the treaty, the ratification serves as a necessary formality.
Government says this ratification is to help with Belize's massive debt – which now stands at 135% of our GDP - more than twice the prudential benchmark. The treaty is a part of the requirements in a long proposed debt for nature swap.
But while this sounds straightforward, the UDP weren't convinced. Instead, Senator Michael Peyrefitte said that this motion should be called the "Lord Ashcroft Motion" since he believes the Ashcroft Alliance - which has three pending arbitral awards against Belize - will be the ones to benefit from it.
He explained his opposition to the motion, while also denying Senator Courtenay's claims that the ratification began under the UDP Administration.
Michael Peyrefitte - Opposition Senator "The only arbitral awards we have out there are for companies that are associated with our belong to Michael Ashcroft. UHS, Michael Ashcroft, BCB, British Caribbean Bank, Michael Ashcroft. The other one, the Belize Social Development Limited, Michael Ashcroft. Together you know much we are indebted to these companies based on arbitration. Over 300 million dollars, so what this does, what this ratification does is pave way for Michael Ashcroft to claim his monies gotten arbitration. We ratify, it opens the door, why do it, for Michael Ashcroft to skip the courts and just collect based on the treaty that we have ratified here today? And then the negotiation for debt conservation fails, which means we don't get a deal on our debt and all we are stuck with is a convention that enables Michael Ashcroft to collect over 3 to 400 million dollars that is owing to him. There is this talk that the UDP did two things, that the UDP started this process before November 11, it's even in the PUP press release yesterday, that is absolutely an utterly false. They were initial negotiations, we did commit to talk about it at some point in the future, but you know what was the problem madam president? We could not be convinced as to what was the connection between debt and conservation and arbitral awards and I'll tell you another thing madam president, one of our debt holders, our creditors is Michael Ashcroft, in addition to the arbitral award you know, he holds about 17%-18% of Belize's debt and he's dying to get to 22% because once you get to 22% madam president, you hold the veto power in what they call the collective action clause, it means that no restructuring can happen without Michael Ashcroft agreeing to it. So what he had come to us with is that he wanted to take these arbitral awards add it to the superbond to make it one even bigger superbond and then with that, he would have garnered more than the required 22%, so then he would literally own us."
But Senator Courtenay did not come unprepared. In fact, he came with the proof to back up his claim – text messages between two anonymous persons, one being a former CEO. In the WhatsApp messages, the ratification is being discussed and it shows that the Attorney General at the time also had knowledge of it.
Hon. Eamon Courtenay - Senator "You would have thought when the fight was going on with Michael Ashcroft that the UDP was at the forefront fighting against the predator but madam president, black and white speak the truth. With your permission I want to quote from the same 2017 judgement of the CCJ. This is in the UHS case, this is the case where the bank was saying pay me my money and I will enforce it and they went to court, listen to what the CCJ said about the lawyers for the UDP - it is necessary to mention that the proceedings were originally brought by the association of concerned Belizeans against the Prime Minister and the Attorney General of Belize. There was a change of government in Belize in February 2008 and the new Prime Minister and the Attorney General ceased to defend the claim. Dean Oliver Barrow, Wilfred Peter Elrington, ceased to defend the claim brought by the Belize Bank. In court of appeal Ms. Magali Perdomo was announced as appearing for the Prime Minister and the Attorney General but did not otherwise participate in the proceedings - this is the fight against Mr. Barrow, they did not defend."
"Madam president, we are dealing with debt crisis in this country, the UDP started these negotiations, they came here pretending that they don't know what we are talking about. I want to quote Mr. Peyrefitte, absolutely and utterly false that it began under the UDP, well this is Dean Oliver Barrow, Prime Minister but it goes worse and I will make this available so I don't have to call their names to the senators over here because they have these documents. Yesterday, people start to send me Whatsapp, I won't call the names, they refer to an AG. Madam president this goes back to September 2020, this is coming from the person for the international institution to a CEO - any word on ratification? I have a call this afternoon with blank, the minister to discuss best case scenario would be if GOB can ratify, let me tell you what the CEO says, yes I am pushing for that, I told the minister, won't call the name, that we can do that before the elections to ensure that the ball keeps rolling. Answer, great, thanks. Next Whatsapp, hey any word on ratifying the New York convention? I'd like to schedule a call next week with GOB team, they had a team, to introduce Mr. so and so our deal lead who is stepping in since so and so is leaving soon, please let me know when would be a good day and time. Now get the dates correct, September 2020, hi, I know that the minister was to talk to the AG yesterday, I'll get an update from minister. Who was the AG? I know that minister was to talk to the AG yesterday, I will get an update from minister. Absolutely and utterly false."
But outside the House, Senator Peyrefitte stuck to his position that the UDP would never entertain such a convention, and if the texts were real, well, they were minor conversations.
Michael Peyrefitte - Senator "Absolutely not, we were approached in our term, there was some initial discussion, but nothing was settled upon, no agreement with any gratification of any convention. The reason being that we couldn't see the relation between the two so nothing of the sort, and If there was discussion then there were minor infringed discussions that had no place in the focus of the government at that time. As you know, we're in the middle of a pandemic, I can assure you that the ratification of a convention and this entire debt for sovereign, debt for conservation never occurred during that time, it never came up in the senate from I was a member of the senate from 2017, never came up in cabinet, never came up in any discussion at all, so if indeed those text messages that Senator Courtenay says he has are real and not imagined or made up, if they are real, then I can tell you that those were conversations that were taking place at a very, very low level and they might have been an intention to enter negotiations, when people ask to talk, you talk but that doesn't mean you have committed to anything."
