Since 2019, 7News has been following the battle over the control of the importation of Liquified Petroleum Gas into Belize. That's the cooking fuel that the public knows better as "butane." The dispute started when the Former Barrow Administration passed the National Liquefied Petroleum Gas Project Act.
That law established a new regime that broke the monopoly which Central American-based companies: Gas Tomza Ltd., Western Gas Co. Ltd, Southern Choice Butane Ltd., and Belize Western Energy Ltd. held on the industry. That law made a shift in the industry where only the National Gas Company would be allowed to import LPG into Belize at a state-of-the-art marine terminal in Independence Village. All other companies, including these former importers, would then have to purchase their fuel supply from NGC, which they can then use to supply their customers.
Those companies went to court to complain that the government violated their constitutional rights by passing this law, which in effect, took over their business through the compulsory acquisition of the importation. Well, that case has been argued to completion before Justice Michelle Arana, who handed down a judgment today. Her ruling is in favor of the claimants, the Central American companies that once dominated the industry. Knowledgeable sources told us that they were seeking, through this lawsuit, to return to the pre-2019 status quo when they were the importers. The judge has not struck down the law, but she has ruled that the government must pay them a collective sum of 10 million, 800 thousand dollars in compensation.
7News obtained a copy of the judgment, which we are still reviewing, and we also got a chance to speak with the government's attorney. He told us that although a 10-million-dollar judgment is nothing to sneeze at, that is only a fraction of what the companies were claiming. Here's that interview via Zoom, which happened less than an hour ago:
E. Andrew Marshalleck, SC - Attorney for the GOB Claimants
"There was a challenge to the constitutionality of the legislation. The argument ran that the effect of the legislation was to compulsorily acquire the goodwill of these four claimants in their LPG import business. And the court found that the acts effected such an expropriation of property and that property has to be paid for. So, the compensation is the court's estimate of the value of the goodwill that was taken and passed over to NGC when the law was passed. And, it was provided therein that the National Gas Company is to be the exclusive importer of LPG in Belize going forward. The primary challenge was to strike down the law so that the claimants could return to their importation business. The law hasn't been struck down. The law continues, but compensation must be provided for this expropriation of goodwill that the claimants had by virtue of their history of engaging in the importation of LPG in Belize."
Daniel Ortiz
"Do you think that we should pay? Or should we go to an appeal?"
E. Andrew Marshalleck, SC
"Well, all that will be looked at in the days ahead when we get a chance to study it. I'm sure, given the sums involved, that will be considered thoroughly. But, you must bear in mind that while the 10 million dollars might appear to be a lot, you're dealing with a lot more. It's a small fraction, actually, of what was claimed. In fact, the law was challenged on some five bases and failed on most of them. It succeeded only on one, and as to the manner of assessing the value of that goodwill and whether it was correct, that is something we will look closely into. But, the award is meant to compensate the claimants for the loss of property that was effected by the law."
Daniel Ortiz
"What would you want viewers to focus on when they review this judgment? The immediate reaction could be another 11 million when we already have these massive judgment debts that keep racking up against us."
E. Andrew Marshalleck, SC
"Sure, but you also have to balance it against what was gained. If it were, for instance, that you were dealing with the compulsory taking of your national telecommunications company, and the challenge resulted in a 10-million-dollar award, you have to look at it in the overall context of the overall value of what was being dealt with. So, while you're stunned by the 10-million-dollar figure - and that's a lot of money for you and me, in terms of the industry, that might not be the case."
We note that although the law was created by the Former Government, the Briceno Administration made an amendment to the law last year to remove certain importation exclusivity that the NGC is operating on. We understand that the claimants complained to the court that although there was that shift, the outcome is very much the same since the amendments set a high standard that is out of their reach.
