Going back to the house meeting now, government today introduced the National Liquefied Petroleum Gas Project (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
It's significant because it ends the national Liquid Petroleum Gas monopoly which the government had set up for the National Gas Company - in which government owns a stake.
So, the Bill for an Act to amend the National Liquefied Petroleum Gas Project Act, allows other companies Developer to obtain a licence to import LPG into Belize; and provides for a new LPG pricing methodology.
Today, speaking for the attorney General, Minister Francis Fonseca explained that they are facing a lawsuit from the former importers - and are doing this as a way of mitigating risk:
Hon. Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
"The national liquified petroleum gas project is a public/private partnership between the government of Belize and the National Gas Company Ltd. wherein import bulk terminal for LPG located at the port of big Creek and two strategic distribution depots located in Belmopan and Orange Walk have been established. The project is aimed at addressing energy security, transparent pricing and quality assurance. Under the PPP government currently owns 25% of the company and after financing has been repaid, which is estimated to be over a 15 year period, one hundred percent of the company will be vested in the government of Belize. The agreement was executed between LGCL and Government of Belize in 2018 and the National Liquified Petroleum Gas act was passed by the national assembly in 2020. That act is now the subject of a legal challenge grounded primarily on the effect of the exclusive right to import conferred by section 5 of the act on the fundamental rights of the claimants. Under the agreement LGCL was given an indemnity that if the exclusive agreement given for them to import LPG was declared invalid or enforceable the government would indemnify the company for any liability loss or damage. Based on our legal advice it is important to move this amendment to seek to mitigate government's liability. The amendment seek to achieve two things; 1) delete section 5 of the act and replace it with a new section which provides that the right to import LPG into Belize and to engage in the business of selling and distributing LPG shall be subject to section 3 of the supplies control regulations. So it remove the right to be granted import licenses and 2) introduces a new requirement for the acquisition of LPG for importation only by way of a supervised tendering process. This prevents the practice of transfer pricing by those companies who purchase LGP for importation into Belize from affiliated companies."
