During the debate, PUP's Leader of Government Business Eamon Courtenay outlined a number of reasons why his party blames the previous UDP Administration for the current financial crisis. During his prepared remarks, Courtenay focused on the land deal from last year with The Nature Conservancy.
Last week, this global environmental organization sent out a press release to alert Belizeans that they have collaborated with more than a dozen other organizations to acquire 236 thousand acres of land in Belize. They say that it was done to preserve Preserve the Belize Maya Forest, but in Eamon Courtenay's opinion, it came at too high a price.
Here are the details he disclosed in what he calls a scandal:
Hon. Eamon Courtenay, Leader of Government Business
"On the 19th October 2021 after the national assembly was dissolved, Hugo Patt, Corozal North then Minister of Natural Resources signed a secret agreement with the Nature Conservancy. I don't know if Senator Peyrefitte knew about it, but he have an opportunity to tell us. It could not and was not brought to the national assembly, because it has already been dissolved. How was this nefarious deal structured? Big land owners transferred land supposedly to a trust controlled by the Nature Conservancy and that trust is supposed to be for the people and government of Belize. How nice, how generous, but at what price, 266,000 acres of land in the Orange Walk District is supposed to go in this trust controlled by the Nature Conservancy. Hugo Patt with the stroke of his pen waived all the stamp duties payable on that transaction. What was the value of the transaction? US72 million 500 thousand dollars. 145million Belizean dollars is the value of that transaction and all the stamp duties was waived by Hugo Patt."
"Senators, what are we talking about? The stamp duty payable on that was 7 million 250 thousand Belizean dollars given away by Hugo Patt by the stroke of his pen without national assembly approval."
Hon. Mike Peyrefitte, UDP Senator
"Point of order 36/8. I hear Senator Courtenay keep saying Hugo Patt. The Honorable Hugo Patt is the member of the house for Corozal North. If he wants to discuss the conduct of the honorable member from Corozal North he needs to bring a substantive motion to that effect and we can talk about it then, we can debate it then, I can tell you what I know about it then, but you cannot bring up the conduct of a member of the house in a budget debate as to his behavior supposedly in the past administration. The rules are clear Madam President."
Madam President
"If when referring to the member for Corozal North that he be reference the Hon. Hugo Patt, in addition the budget debate I will allow the broad interpretation of the debate to bring issues that relate to the expenditure and revenue of the government of Belize."
Hon. Eamon Courtenay, Leader of Government Business
"The UDP government of Belize gave away 7 million 250 thousand dollars in stamp duty on a single transaction without making it public. But they didn't done there, that wasn't good enough, the UDP government in this same document signed by you know who gave away all the land taxes. Listen carefully, Senator Salas this is in Orange Walk, your district - all the land taxes were waived for 50 years. It is a high crime to waive 70 million 800 thousand dollars in land tax. 1 million 416 thousand per year. Multiply it by 50 years, waived by you know who, amounts to 70 million 800 thousand waived, when we were suffering a covid crisis and if you think that bad, it didn't get enough. This is a serious matter. The house was dissolved, we were in election campaign and in the quite of an office the waive speculation tax, is imposed on any piece of land 300 acres of bigger. Speculation tax waived for 50 years. The land tax act says the speculation tax is payable in addition to the land tax. The Belizean people must know that you know who gave away 385 million dollars in speculation tax. The tax payable is 7 million, 700 thousand per year times 50 years given away in the quite of night without public disclosure by you know who."
According to Senator Courtenay, the signed agreement on this TNC deal says that Barrow and Williams, the law firm of the former Prime Minister, Dean Barrow, prepared and drafted the document.
