The Prime Minister also spoke about the recent High Court judgement which found that some parts of the Sugar Act are unconstitutional.
Among those findings are that cane farmers do not have to be members of an association to deliver cane. And, significantly, that the BSI is not required to pay annual levies to the Sugar Industry Control Board. That levy goes as high as a million dollars a year, and, without it, the SICB - which is the industry regulator - would collapse.
The Prime Minister said initial indications are that - in spite of the judgement - ASR/BSI is prepared to maintain the status quo:
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"BSI had reached out to us last week and just yesterday I was on the phone and I spoke with Mac, who is the country director and they are saying, listen we want to work with the farmers, we want to work with the government, we don't want to disrupt the industry. This year cane farmers are going to get the best price they've gotten in a very long time. It's going to be over $70. But secondly, and I say this very cautiously and he mentioned it to me last night, the attorney general mentioned it to us in cabinet and even the other side attorney was saying that the judge...did not rule clearly enough. The point is that it was not a very clear ruling and so we have to sit down and work either decide we want to appeal or sit down and work with BSI and the association."
"You cannot take away the right to tax from a government. So we could always find another way how we can amend that to be able to tax so that we could get the money. Because the Belize Sugar Industry Control Board plays a critical role. They are also telling you and it's not something that is surprising, that the right choose - that you have to be in an association and they are saying no, that the constitution gives you the right if you want to be in an association or not, if you want to be independently or not. But most farmers are going to stay with their associations. Why are you trying to negotiate alone with BSI? It makes no sense, so its not as bad."
A statement from BSI last week said, quote, "BSI is considering the impact of the ruling on its operations and that of industry stakeholders. BSI strongly believes that regulation should encourage positive reform and industry modernization."
