For the past two nights, we've been reporting on the letter which the Prime Minister sent to the president of the Belize sugar Cane Farmers Association president offering his members a million dollars in fertilizers if they drop pending litigation against ASR/BSI and Tate and Lyle Sugars.
That offer was first made in December by the Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Trade, Osmond Martinez. Speaking via Zoom with XTV today, he said that we are missing the bigger picture, that it is not the government who is requesting this settlement, it is in fact the farmers:
Osmond Martinez, Minister of State & Foreign Trade
"I think um that you all haven't got the the true picture of it. Uh the point is that we it's not us who invited them into that um negotiations. They were the ones who came to us, you know, saying that they wanted to do that."
"We even have an initial letter that was sent to us by them saying that they were asking for more than that to drop the case. For example, they were asking for additional millions in fertilizer and other little things."
"But so it's not the government of Belize who has given condition. It was a response based on their request and we have the letter. They also came to my office. They went to PM's office, the chairman of BSCFA, with other members, saying that they want to work with us."
"They need the fair trade. They believe that they were not going to get it. So for us, it doesn't matter which way or whatever they want to do, we will respect it, we will support them. We are supporting them unprecedented, as is on the budget debate, we will announce a 14 million Belize Dollars stimulus package to the sugar industry."
"So we at no point has encouraged or discouraged them to do whatever they want. We just responded to a letter. And if you look at the letter, I can share the letter with you that we sent to them because the letter says, in response to your letter, so and so and so."
The BSCFA heads into what is expected to be a very contentious Special General Meeting on Sunday to decide on the way forward.
