And, not only sent back, but the Prime Minister said the generous Portico definitive agreement will have to be downsized to fall in line with those given to Stake Bank and the Harvest Caye down south.
Now, those Definitive Agreements have never seen the light of day - until today. 7News has obtained a copy of the Harvest Caye Definitive Agreement - and he did a light comparison to some of the features of the Portico definitive agreement. Here's his story:
This is the Definitive Agreement for Harvest Caye owned by a group named Belize Island Holdings Limited - executed in 2014.
It differs greatly from the Portico Definitive Agreement for the Port Of Magical Belize - principally because the Harvest Caye agreement does not grant the extravagant concessions that one does.
When we look under the section for exemption from taxes and duties, it makes it clear that it is only exempt from taxes as per the standard fiscal incentives act and only during the construction phase.
The Portico Definitive agreement on the other hand says it "Exempts the Developer, and their subcontractors from the payment of any and all customs and excise and revenue replacement duties, stamp duties, general sales taxes, environmental taxes, income taxes, business taxes, contract taxes and withholding taxes"
In the definitive agreement for Harvest Caye however, it says
"BIHL shall be subject to Environmental Tax as per the Environment Tax Act, and Business Tax as per the Income and Business Tax Act."
For the Port of Magical, It also exempts the developer from any income or business taxes during the term of the agreement. They're also exempted from stamp duty payable on transfers - including the transfer of land
But, the Harvest Caye agreement makes no such promise. It states very clearly that "the Operations of the Project shall not be subject to government incentives."
In the Portico agreement Government is obligated to introduce and pass the Legislation and it must, quote, make all reasonable and legal efforts to ensure an expedited processing of the Legislation."
In the Harvest Caye Agreement it says "GOB undertakes to pass specific legislation to enshrine this Definitive Agreement Into law but only after presentation by BIHL of a detailed and sound Development Plan…
In the Portico Agreement it says it will "Exempt the Developer from all currency exchange control laws during the Term;"
While in the Harvest Caye agreement, it says GOB agrees to permit an authorized foreign exchange dealer at the Port, subject to the Exchange Control Regulations and Laws of Belize.
These are just some of the fundamental differences between the two agreements - also Harvest Caye is less than 20 pages long, while Portico is over 30.
Yet they are both signed by the same man - Erwin Contreras, Minister of Economic Development and Investment at the time. His signature on this Harvest Caye agreement which came with full Cabinet review and approval differs so starkly - that when he signed Portico in 2020, he had to know the difference.
