We also got some candid commentary on the Definitive Agreement from the UDP's Chairman and senior Senator, Mike Peyrefitte. He spoke bluntly about his former colleague and senior party official Erwin Contreras. He says he was embarassed by what was promised in the Definitive Agreement.
Mike Peyrefitte, UDP Senator
"The document is ridiculous. It is embarrassing, it is totally wrong, and entered into illegally by a minister who did not have the authority to enter into that agreement. You're talking about an agreement that waives certain taxes, fees, and all of those things that, some of which not even the Minister of Finance can do. So if the Minister of Finance can't do it, how can the Minister of Investment do it?"
"It's not, it's not a legitimate document. You're talking about the waving of stamp duty on the transfer of land, the waving of environmental tax. You can't do that. No minister is authorized to do that. And so that document was not entered into by persons having the authority to do it. And Portico, the principals of Portico knew this."
"They knew that Erwin Contreras did not have even the apparent authority to enter into that agreement. They knew that that was not the proper process."
"And I don't want the PUP to come with some song that, oh, Erwin signed that, so therefore they have to, they have to honour that."
Jules Vasquez
"Well, that's what the Prime Minister said."
Mike Peyrefitte, UDP Senator
"Well, that's crap, because it will be the first time in history that they will be honouring a document signed by the UDP, the first time in history, because they can say all they want. I am saying, nobody has to ask me. I am saying - nobody has to ask me: What Irwin did was wrong and it was egregious, and the UDP does not stand by that document."
"We believe it's illegal, but when you take that very same document and you attach it to a cabinet paper and want to submit that to the National Assembly to make it law, it is now the PUP's baby, it is no longer Erwin Contreras' baby. They have owned it, they're endorsing it, and they must answer to the Belizean people why."
Jules Vasquez
"Are you able then to concede that Erwin Contreras signing this, on his own without the authority of the cabinet, is indicative of the level of rot and corruption that had set in with the UDP?"
Mike Peyrefitte, UDP Senator
"Not at all. This is a one-off act. That doesn't say anything about me. It doesn't say anything about Dean Barrow, it doesn't say anything about many other ministers in the UDP government. You cannot take what one person did and blame it on all of us. We are saying..."
Jules Vasquez
"It's obviously indicative of the culture that persisted in the UDP."
Mike Peyrefitte, UDP Senator
"No, no, no. No, no, no, no. I disagree. I disagree, because I never did anything like that. So I don't look, and I don't care what culture supposedly people want to create. It doesn't mean that I have to be a part of that, and it doesn't mean that I can't say that I don't support that. And I say that that is wrong. And when he signed that document, he should not have done that."
"This PUP government should be looking at that agreement and saying are you all crazy? Are you all crazy? We are not going to support this. We are not going to honor this because this is an illegal document for all the reasons that we stated."
"But the PUP seems to be giving this document a big bear hug. They're loving it. They want it, they want to, they, they want to push forward with it. And I am saying that that is an illegal document. And I think right away, the attorney general would tell them, these are certain things that you cannot do. You cannot honour this, because these are things that require acts of parliament."
Jules Vasquez
"If you had a conversation with Erwin Contreras, what would you say to him?"
Mike Peyrefitte, UDP Senator
"I would ask him what the hell he was thinking about. What made you do that? What made you do that? When he knew that the policy was, first of all, you get environmental clearance before you have a definitive agreement. Erwin knows this. To have him sign a document to bind the whole government in, in a, It's not… what the hell? What the hell happened?"
Jules Vasquez
"So then when someone in public life who is a senior official at the time, he had 12 years experience, 12 and a half years. When someone in public life does something manifestly irrational, immediately we are forced to conclude that he must have done it for the wrong reasons. In your opinion, was corruption involved in Erwin Contreras signing this odious - as you describe it - definitive agreement?"
Mike Peyrefitte, UDP Senator
"I don't know. I have no evidence to that, but I am telling you, I am telling you it, I'm at a loss as to why he would do that. That's a question for him."
"Part of me is saying, "wow!" You couldn't have read that document. Couldn't have read that document. You had past attorney general saying, he didn't even know if the money was US or Belize. He not even read the document. I don't know if he read it. It would almost be better if he didn't read it because, gosh, you read that document, there's no way that a voice in your head is telling you, I can't do this. I just can't do this."
