Last night you heard Luke Espat, the displaced owner of the Port of Belize explaining his position on a renewed round of litigation between the Port and the Government of Belize.
The bottom line is that he was not in court last week because the receiver for the port doesn't want him there.
And the truth is that when companies go over to a receiver, only rarely do they return to the hands of the original owner.
So it seems Espat's chances at re-assuming control of the Port are very slim - particularly considering his overall indebtedness, which, we are told is in the hundreds of millions of Belize dollars.
Still, he remains upbeat - but Jules Vasquez didn't seem quite convinced. Here's more of their exchange from yesterday's interview:
Luke Espat - Displaced As Owner of The Port of Belize
"Nothing is impossible in this world, you know. I have never looked at life as though anything is insurmountable. There is always a way."
Jules Vasquez
"So then, how do you go forward? You are saddled with multiple debts. You are in multiple receiverships. How do you move forward?"
Luke Espat
"That's a simple one; we are moving forward. There are new things on the horizon that we are doing, and we are working on the market to get the funding to pay the debt. It's as simple as that."
Jules Vasquez
"In your characterization of these events, you are never to blame. It's always someone else's fault. Someone didn't live up to their agreement. Someone made an unjust enforcement of an agreement, and thus you are disadvantaged. Might it not be that you approach business, or the way you conduct business was infeasible, and because of that, you were unable to meet your commitments to the Ashcroft Alliance and the various affiliates that have now taken over the Port."
Luke Espat
"Let us put that in a correct context, Jules. The feasibility of the expansion of the Port - remember they are 2 things. To say that we took on things that weren't feasible, I think is a very wrong statement, 1. Everything that was designed around creating the Port was to create an industry that moves forward from one step to the next. All the projects, as a part of the group that you tried to refer to - or you referred to - that we blamed this, or we blamed that - we are not blaming anyone. Please, let's not fool ourselves. We are not blaming anyone. And the whole objective of the thing going cross-way, was the mere fact of some agreement that we had that they would have funded the cruise terminal, and they decided to change their mind because of the atmosphere in Belize, and the problems they had with the Barrow Government on BTL. We could not be taken responsibly for that action, so we said, 'Return the shares-'."
Jules Vasquez
"Luke, you know that's not true. They had a problem with you, the carnival group, your great friend Giora Israel. They had a problem with you because you wanted to dominate the construction of the Port. You wanted to architect, consultant, designer, engineer, and contractor."
Luke Espat
"Well, that's an argumentative fact that you can say that my spirit is a very dominant one, and if I do something, I want to get it done. But, I am a no-nonsense individual, if we're going to do something, and I will not pay $500 for a toilet. This is not the US Government. I would not have justified certain expenditures that you would pay for the rest of your life, and have a project done for 200 million dollars, that can be done for 70 million dollars. I was not a party to a facility being controlled by foreigners, when Belizeans need work. So you called that dominant? Well, if I am guilty that I chose that the project go light at that time for Belizeans to get the maximum benefit from it, and stakeholders in Belize to participate at the maximum level, then I'm guilty. I could have been the nice guy and give it all away, and maybe it would have been here. But, it will be done in time."
Jules Vasquez
"But it won't be done by you."
Luke Espat
"Well, that's not a problem. We are happy with ourselves. We can never say what will happen tomorrow, and we can never say or determine how we will handle it where the Port is concerned. But that will come."
Jules Vasquez
"But, also, as a businessman, you shouldn't expect a miracle in the morning. The fact is your debt to various affiliates to of the Belize Bank - PIL - all these strange creatures - is - we're told - in excess of 90 million US dollars."
Luke Espat
"Not really, It's quite a tidy sum, but there is good value."
Jules Vasquez
"But, I am saying that you don't wake up in the morning and wish all of that away. I know that all of that is not for the Port, but you're in deep, and there is no easy way out because you're not earning."
Luke Espat
"It's not a matter of out, Jules. The businesses that they've put into receivership are in receivership, so that's done. The principal part of this entire debt is the Port of Belize and the Cruise Terminal investment. The Port of Belize will never stop making money, so that in itself answers your question. Now, how do you get responsible to take it to the next level? Then you ask yourself, 'Was it the genuine interest of the receiver to get their money? Do they really want their money?"
Jules Vasquez
"Do you foresee that someday you will take back over the Port?"
Luke Espat
"Jules, I am not here to predict what happens anymore. Everything is fluid. You never know. Tomorrow morning, some new arrangement comes up. Maybe a buyer comes up. Who know? The point is that it moves on."
Jules Vasquez
"But you sound almost defeated, Mr. Espat."
Luke Espat
"Defeated? We have not started fight as yet, Jules. All we are here for is to protect value, put our thoughts together, get our act together, and move on. You're circling the wagons. It's as simple as that."
Jules Vasquez
"Do you feel some sense of vulnerability? Your business empire has crumbled. People who were your friend, like Mr. Ashcroft, are no longer your friends - or are no longer your business allies. Your party is not in government. I sense a distance between you and the current leadership of the PUP. You are no longer a member of the Executive. You were removed as well from the Executive. Are you feeling vulnerable, or not-so-certain about the future?"
Luke Espat
"Absolutely not so, Jules, the People's United Party is the People's United Party. And we know the History of that party. We know that it's a continuous party that thinks about the people of Belize and the development process in this country. You don't have to be on any executive to make your voice heard. You can make yourself be heard."
Jules Vasquez
"It would help if you were there. They removed you though."
Luke Espat
"That's the choice and the prerogative of the leader. You don't fight that kind of thing. You say, well, where do you serve best?"
Jules Vasquez
"You spoke to me about the PUP, but I am saying that from a general perspective, the great Lucas Magnus, who ran the table in 2002, you don't seem to be that person anymore because your fortunes are flagging."
Luke Espat
"That's an over-statement of running the table. I will not say that, but that's opinion. But, to say that I am discouraged, no, absolutely not, Jules. We are doing new things."
Jules Vasquez
"You're broke. You're indebted. You're not poor, but you're broke."
Luke Espat
"We are indebted."
Jules Vasquez
"Large sums, I am saying, does any of this shake you?"
Luke Espat
"Why should it?"
Jules Vasquez
"Well, because you're in a deep hole; it's hard to get out."
Luke Espat
"Well, put it this way, the values are paying themselves for the creditors."
Espat says he does plan to be in the courtroom as an observer when the matter goes back to court on July 20th...
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