The activist organization COLA was back on the streets today. Along with FECTAB they've been pressing Government of Belize to get more involved in the
dispute between the Fort Street Tourism Village's owners, Diamond International and Mike Feinstein.
As we've told you, Feintein's Stakebank project has the greenlight to become the cruise port of call for Belize City, but it cannot proceed because
FSTV's exclusivity rights. It's a battle between private entities that has spilled into the public realm because the tendering procedure to get cruise
tourists from the ships to Belize City. The Cruise companies will be phasing out that tendering process by 2016 because they are transitioning to oasis
class ships which are massive, and not built for tendering.
While it will cause the tourism arrivals to double or triple with every ship, there is the need for port a facility to accommodate it. Stakebank is
ready to go, but there is no foreseeable resolution which will allow the facility to be built any time soon. So, COLA has taken on the fight saying
that the represent the small independent tour operators who will be trampled due to the phasing out. 7News was out there this morning when COLA
mobilized 100 persons to protest on a 4 cruise ship day. Here's what the president told us:
Geovannie Brackett - President, COLA
"The approach from the government to say let the investors battle it out in court maybe could be done if it started 10 years ago, 10 years ago we
should have built a port. Today we don't have that luxury to wait on any court battle. What we need is the prime minister to get the players around a
table and to negotiate and broker a deal soon as possible so we can move forward building this port. We had about 130 people early on, we have about
100 here. We catered for 100, if you looked at my permit I suspected about 70 people by membership and who I was able to call and mobilise. We had
about 140 at our peek and it speaks about the volume. I was just informed this morning that calls have been called for next year because people from
the cruise line are preparing to go south, so what does that mean for Belize City tourism? This is a very serious situation and it needs the full
attention of the government. If the prime minister cares about cruise tourism, he will address the situation immediately."
Daniel Ortiz
"The perception is by many of your critics, that you fighting a battle for Mr. Mike Feinstein, how do you respond?"
Geovannie Brackett
"First of all, I have to get approval from my executive. We've never said push stake bank now, what we have said is push the port now because that is
the information we have gathered. Stake bank has gotten the approval, my members support stake bank. If your asking candidly, are we financed by stake
bank, no. If your asking if the only reason we are out here is because of Mike Feinstein, no. Cola has always fought along side FECTAB and we continue
to fight along side FECTAB, so we are not here fighting a private battle."
Daniel Ortiz
"Mike Feinstein is fighting a project he owned, he sold it Royal Caribbean and Diamonds International and now he's fighting exclusivity rights for what
he sold, he profited from that handsomely."
Geovannie Brackett
"We're not fighting for Mike Feinstein, we're fighting to push a port. Where it's stake bank or Carnival port, push the port now. Belize City needs a
port, the mayor have gone on the record that we need a port, BTB gone on the record we need a port, now COLA and FECTAB are on the record that we need
a port. It doesn't matter where the port is built, push the port now!"
Mike Feinstein has an interesting position on him selling FSTV the property and the exclusive license that's at the center of the whole dispute. He
says the license he sold them expired in 2011 – but the last government extended that to 2028 – and it's that extension which is now the subject of all
this agitation.
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