But, Vasquez as the Receiver of the Port has his own urgent issues to deal with; that's after the Government of Belize announced today that they are revoking the lease for the Commerce Bight Port in Dangriga.
GOB is citing that the revocation is justified because the Administration of the Port of Belize Limited and the Belize Ports Limited has breached 3 clauses in the lease agreement with Government. They say that the administration has failed to submit a development plan or to carry out any development works at the Commerce Beight Port; they've failed to operate and manage the port or to carry out dredging of the approach channel and dock basin; and finally that they've failed to pay lease rental to Government.
Viewers may remember that Government attempted to revoke the lease in March 2008, but the Administration, which was being run by businessman Luke Espat, filed an injunction against government.
GOB's Attorney, Denys Barrow, was finally able, to convince then Justice of the Supreme Court Hafiz-Bertram to discharge it in July of last year.
Employees of the Belize Port Authority were activating to assume control of the Commerce Bight Port, when we spoke to Vasquez today. He explained that the administration is seeking legal advice to determine whether it is possible to reverse the take-over:
Arturo "Tux" Vasquez - CEO, Port of Belize
"In 2007 where there was an injunction of the government to take over the lease of this property and that case was heard on July of last year so the injunction lifted now, I guess the government is moving ahead with the fact that the injunction has been lifted."
Daniel Ortiz
"Are their complaints valid?"
Arturo "Tux" Vasquez
"Those complaints are a part of the entire case and from my understanding, the injunction was lifted but the substantive reasons as to why certain things didn't happen was never addressed by the court - so in my opinion, not being an attorney, the reasons have not been well ventilated. I would imagine that there is still more to be addressed in this case."
Daniel Ortiz
"Are you indicating that this matter will be heard at another Supreme Court case or an appeal court case?"
Arturo "Tux" Vasquez
"As we speak the attorneys are looking at this because this is happening as we speak, the Port of Authority is in Dangriga dealing with taking over the Port so it's something that is happening as we speak, the attorneys are looking at this and I'm still waiting on their advise."
Daniel Ortiz
"Has this happened before?"
Arturo "Tux" Vasquez
"Not on my watch, not that I know from historical - looking at the case and having been involved with the case, government has intended to do this several times and that is why the injunction was put in the first place because this is a property that is leased and the understanding of the documents really indicates that the lease should have been at least to own but that was never granted to the port. That's just one of the reasons why development never did happen, this happened before the receivership it is a case that I inherited when I came in but one of the main facts were that it was never owned - that could have hampered some of the development to happen. It remained a lease and that's really why that did not occur. There's no traffic going to that port, only last year we had a cruise ship using it so it's functional but all of the cargo is coming through the main port here - there's not much happening at that location but we do operate 24-7 with security and keep it maintained and it is something that is always ready to be used."
Vasquez told us that the takeover of this port does not affect the operations at the Belize City Port, nor does it affect the revenue of the Port of Belize Limited and Belize Ports Limited. He also told us that there has been no indication that the Government of Belize intends to make a move on the Belize City Port.
It is interesting to note that Rene Montero, the Minister responsible for Ports, was the one who signed the order to revoke the lease for the Commerce Bight Port. He is also the UDP Area Representative which the former owner of the Port of Belize Limited and Belize Ports Limited, Luke Espat, would challenge in the next general elections, should the PUP allow Espat to become a standard bearer for Cayo Central.
Today, Prime Minister Dean Barrow sent out a press release supporting Montero in the decision to revoke the lease.
His statement says quote,
"The decadent state in which the Commerce Bight Port was found after being in private hands for over 11 years shows the ugly face of the misguided policy of unbridled privatization pursued by the PUP Government when vital national assets were sold out for short-term gains."
The release adds, quote,
"This Government is left to pick up the pieces and salvage what it can from the monumental wreck left behind by the previous administration after their 10 years in office."
It ends with the Prime Minister promising that he will take decisive action when necessary, and that he is undeterred challenges which may be encountered in this process.
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