We also asked the Leader of the Opposition about the Belize Electricity Investments Bill, which will see GOB acquiring 8,000,000 preference shares in BEL. The bill continues by saying that they would authorize payment through SSB's Consolidated Revenue Fund.
It sounds like a BEL bailout with SSB money and we asked the UDP what they thought.
Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition
"73 million, you know we talk about these figures like we're talking about a couple hundred here and a couple hundred there. It's millions. The debt, close to a billion with a b. 73 million dollars for a bail out of BEL. Well I think I am sure that you have an idea where the UDP stands on that issue, it's where we stand on the BTL issue. And I don't want to preempt the House Committee meeting that will be held tomorrow that I will be attending to look at the bill critically and to get the input from the technical people who have put that bill together. I don't want to prejudice that process but I will tell you, if following that meeting we get any hint that we are going to capitalize, use our SSB money for bailout of BEL you will be the first to know. Because I asked the question yesterday, I was in Belmopan for another bill, and when I asked the members of the PUP government where the 73 million dollars were coming from, they were not quite sure but they said it's not the SSB. They're not quite sure so we are going to insist tomorrow that we understand where government is going to source 73 million dollars but here's the crux of the matter, wherever they source it from, you know who will pay? The Belizean taxpayer."
Reports tell us that the proposal is now before Social Security's Investment Committee, which might not support it.
