Email

Print

Last night we told you that the PUP’s Old Guard represented by Said Musa and Ralph Fonseca put John Briceno’s New Guard on official notice: they want back the party’s assets. Briceno’s leadership hasn’t finished paying for them – and that payment is past overdue – so – according to a letter from the law firm of Musa And Balderamos - on October thirtieth, Musa and Fonseca are going to take back the party’s assets. Those assets include Positive Vibes Radio, the Belize Times and the party’s headquarters, Independence Hall on Queen Street.

Well, guess what? Musa and Fonseca are not going to get them back without a fight. And from what we’ve heard, they’re definitely not going to get the roughly $400,000 that the PUP still owes for the assets.

Briceno told us today that the party simply does not have the money to pay by the thirtieth of October and at a meeting on Saturday in Cayo, the National Executive will discuss a strategy to go forward. But, from what we’ve been told by party sources, that will most definitely not be a strategy of appeasement. There is – in many party hardliners that we’ve consulted with – a fair degree of outrage.

Why is that? Well, it is felt that Briceno has repeatedly bent over backward to accommodate Musa –using up his own political capital to accommodate the former leader – culminating in an appointment to the national executive last month. And, our sources say Briceno and his loyalists clearly felt that would be enough to encourage Mr. Musa to let things lie and not pursue the debts.

But according to Musa, a deal’s a deal. He told us today that Briceno and his advisor Eamon Courtenay “committed to an agreement – which has not been fulfilled” despite – claims Mr. Musa – “repeated promises to pay which did not materialize.” As for that supposed understanding that, after a reconciliation of the old and new guards the debt would be left to lie, Musa told us that he, “doesn’t know how Mr. Briceno could have arrived at that conclusion when he knew that Mr. Fonseca and (I) expected him to stick to his agreement...” Musa also stressed that he and Fonseca had to purchase the assets and he says in some cases had to borrow money to do it.

Well, borrowed or begged, the PUP’s Northern Caucus came out blazing this afternoon with a strongly worded declaration and press release. It says that the Northern Caucus – which represents eight divisions – “met today and passed a unanimous resolution calling on the Said Musa and Ralph Fonseca to return the assets of the Party to its Members and supporters.” It continues to say: “It was the position of the Caucus that the assets of the PUP are the sole rightful property of the Party and its members. “ It closes by calling on the Party’s Executive to, “ensure that the Party’s Assets be immediately returned to its rightful owners.”

And that’s where it rests tonight. Briceno and his loyalists are going to that executive meeting at Cahal Pech in Cayo with a full head of steam. They are expected to pass a resolution along the lines of the Northern Caucus, demanding that the assets be handed over to the party. As a recently installed member of the executive, Musa is invited to that meeting but he told us today he hasn’t made up his mind on whether he’s going.