The Definitive Agreement reached Cabinet on May 17th, and since then, the government has been trying to figure out what to do with it. You've heard the Prime Minister say that it will not be taken to the House as it is, and that it has to be re-negotiated to bring it in line with the agreements that Harvest Caye and Stake Bank got.
Today we asked Minister Kareem Musa what he thought when he first saw it, and he said it's basically just the Barrow Administration's leftover bag of "you know what"
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"In terms of the agreement as you have heard by now, that matter was discussed, we have to look at it from several perspectives, one of course is our legal obligation and that is something that the attorney general's ministry will have to deliver an opinion on and perhaps even getting outside counsel to look at that agreement to determine whether or not we would be bound by it legally. I know that initial reaction is no and that is good that we are saying that it's not binding but also you have to look at it from other perspectives as well. The economic value as you might have heard, there were dissenting opinions on it because there are many concessions that were being granted by it and so the matter has been sent back for review and certainly as it is the Cabinet does not support, the Cabinet on a whole, including the prime minister, does not support the current frame of that agreement."
Courtney Menzies:
"What was your reaction when you read through it the first time?"
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"My reaction was, like with most of Cabinet, it seemed as though Erwin Contreras and/or members of the last administration because we cannot completely rule out the involvement of other ministers and at the end of the day, because I see former prime minister Barrow trying to relinquish any sort of involvement with his ministers and running for the hills as he normally does, but at the end of the day, this is just residual fecal matter from the Barrow Administration that we in the People's United Party are having to clean up and so that is what I first felt, wow, I can't believe that a minister signed this agreement because there were a lot of concessions and tax breaks that were being offered and certainly that is why like I said in Cabinet wholesale basically condemned that agreement."
