For the past two weeks - the Portico Definitive Agreement has been on the news nightly - and if not in the news - then in the commercial breaks. It is a matter of burning national interest - what the Briceno administration will do next - after it embraced a very suspect agreement signed during the last days of the Barrow administration. Not only embraced it, but took it to Cabinet asking for approval.
And that Portico Definitive Agreement - signed by former UDP Minister of Economic Development and Investment Erwin Contreras - is, by any estimation, overwhelmingly skewed in favor of Portico and totally unbalanced: all the benefits accrue to Portico - and all the possible penalties are unfairly tilted against the government.
But, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line - one of the largest in the world - signed unto a Memorandum of Agreement with Portico under those specific conditions. And, the Briceno Administration also made commitments to the developers to take it to the House of Representatives - conditionally by today, 9th June.
Well, that didn't happen - and that's because after the Definitive Agreement was sent back by Cabinet The Briceno Administration has been in a scramble - first, to distance itself from a very suspect, possibly illegal agreement signed by a former UDP Minister gone rogue, and second, to re-negotiate the agreement and bring it in line with the far more rational terms of the two prior cruise Definitive Agreements - the first with Harvest Caye, and the second with Stake Bank.
Unconfirmed reports told us yesterday that two ranking Ministers were in Miami yesterday to do just that with Royal Caribbean. So we waited at the airport today to find out if that was so. We wanted to ask the Prime Minister who was returning from a CARICOM meeting in the Bahamas, but that didn't go too well. Cherisse Halsall reports:
While the PM and Chris Coye were sharing a book look on in business class on the flight from Miami, when they landed, the PM didn't want to talk about what he'd been reading or anything else.
Cherisse Halsall:
"Good afternoon PM, you could talk to us about Kamala Harris and the summit."
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"We had a good meeting with them, there is no update right now."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Anthony Mahler is in Miami, what's the meeting about?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"We are coming from New York, actually."
Reporter
"PM, will there be an inquiry on the definitive agreement?" Have you responded to the Stake Bank attorney saying that you should say if the definitive agreement won't be valid?"
Cherisse Halsall:
"Sir, will Portico still need to get a port license, Port Authority says that they have no."
Chris Coye, Minister of State in the Ministry Of Finance & Economic Development
"I don't know who is telling you all of this stuff, but Anthony Mahler is the Minister of Tourism. He doesn't act on behalf of anyone but the government."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Sir but you were in this meeting with Anthony Mahler, Portico and Royal Caribbean, is there anything that the public should know about that meeting?"
Chris Coye
"I am not sure which meeting you are talking about."
This one where Channel 5 last night quoted the Prime Minister as saying "Cabinet has asked both Anthony Mahler and Chris Coye to meet the developers and work out an agreement that's more reasonable to both sides."
Coye says it's all about the source of the agreement
Chris Coye
"I think there is an approach on the media as far as what is the value of this agreement, this definitive agreement, but at the substance of it this is an agreement that was signed by the UDP administration under the honourable former Minister."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Yes, Sir but when the Prime Minister said it was binding things changed and in walking back the terms of the Contreras definitive agreement, is this PUP administration accepting that it is incumbent upon you to deal with Portico and Royal Caribbean?"
Chris Coye
"I think that all depends on legal advice, the legal advice that is procured on it and it is only based on that advice that the government acts."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Now, you said legal advice but the attorney general is leaving so who will give that legal advice does she have to weigh in on this definitive agreement before she leaves?"
Chris Coye
"Well, I think in terms of legal advice you have the attorney General's office that has its full complement of attorneys and you also have an external legal counsel."
Reporter;
"The opposition has claimed that the attorney general advised the Prime Minister that this definitive agreement was illegal."
Chris Coye
"Don't you think it's in their interest to say that."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Sir, your opinion on this kerfuffle with the Definitive agreement and then the AG stepping down virtually simultaneously, is this the first crack in the PUP administration?"
Chris Coye
"I don't see that one has anything to do with the other and you could speak to the AG and she would probably confirm as much."
"I think whatever Cabinet confidential you have seen, you need to look at it more carefully because in the bill attached to that Cabinet confidential has specific carve outs that do not acknowledge the validity of. So whatever is out there in the public you really do have to read it more closely."
We also wanted to hear from the Minister Of Tourism Anthony Mahler, but he avoided the scrum that got a hold of the PM.
