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And while the leader of the opposition gave us an interview, the debate on this bill is still ongoing at this hour - with the PUP proudly crowing about all the bill accomplishes. Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde spoke about past difficulties at the Port under Ashcroft's ownership:
Cordel Hyde, Deputy Prime Minister
"You know, I hate very much for Mr. Ashcroft to get another cent. It's very painful for me because I'm very, very uncomfortable with that, because I contend that the man has gotten far too much from this government and the people over the last 30 plus years. And he got far more under the last government than any other government in the history of governments."
"But that's not the point. The point is that if we acquire the port, then we have to pay for it. You have to pay for it. If you take something from somebody, you have to pay for it. The question is how much will you pay? We could have done it the UDP way. But we didn't because then only the lawyers will make money and we could have gone and the record is there, the member for Caribbean Shores, you've articulated all so well over the years just how many millions the lawyers made off a phony confrontation. They will always make money you know, that's a hell of a profession..."
"So we could have we could have gone to a shady hotel room in Miami and had the prime minister on one side and Mr. Ashcroft with his battery of world best attorneys and accountants in his back pocket on the other side. We could have gone with our ego."
"But we didn't. We could have gone with the personal profit, but we didn't. Instead, we employed our own battery of world bests and home grown accountants and attorneys, and we worked out what we consider to be the best deal we could have gotten for the people of Belize. There were locals on the negotiating team, sir. There were locals on the negotiating team."
So who are the locals who did the negotiation? Our deep research shows the following cast of actors:
The principal negotiators were Stewart Howard - the CEO of Waterloo and chief negotiator for Waterloo;
Economic Ambassador Mark Espat, the lead negotiator for GOB
Eamon Courtenay who was the cabinet lead and co-negotiator for GOB,
Financial Secretary Joseph Waight and technical adviser for government
And
Phillip Osborne, the Ashcroft Alliance pointman and corporate counsel.
Plus
Godfrey Smith - the Ashcroft Alliance attorney.
