And while Briceno points to the punishment of the electorate, he doesn't get off so easy. That's because his family part owns the other phone company, Speednet. That company - which also has the Ashcroft Alliance as a major shareholder - gets special mention the accommodation agreement. The agreement says, quote, "no persons other than BTL and Speednet…will hold an individual license to legally carry on, conduct, or provide telecommunication services."
It's a special carve out in a very special agreement, and today, Briceno bristled when we asked if he had the standing to condemn this latest BTL payout when his family's company was involved in the Accommodation Agreement:...
Hon. John Briceno, PUP Party Leader
"It has been no secret that my family in involved in a company with the competition against BTL - SPEEDNET. They got no special concessions from the government of Belize, they got no tax exemptions from the government of Belize and thirdly, I was unaware of that agreement. You knew that. You've ask me this before Jules if I knew about the agreement. You know I did not know about the agreement. So then how then can you ask whether I have a moral authority to speak? Of course I have moral authority. I am the Leader of the Opposition, I am the leader of this party and we have to hold Dean Barrow and the UDP accountable for the folly that is costing that country hundreds of millions of dollars."
Of course, to hear government pitch it, the silver lining on the Accommodation Agreement cloud will be paid in Belize dollars, and is to be spent in Belize, quote, "to fund projects to help the people of Belize". Today, the PUP said that's a joke:
Hon. John Briceno, PUP Party Leader
"His next brazen spin was to try to get us to believe that 60% of this money is not going to Ashcroft, but will be held in a account in Belize to be spent on capital projects at the behest of the government. We have to give the Prime Minister credit for being so brazen or as Belizeans would say "barefaced." The Prime Minister is really trying to take the Belizean people for fools. 60% of the money will come in a bank in Belize, probably Belize Bank, but no, that money is not government's money and no, that money will not be controlled by government. It will be controlled by Ashcroft and his people. There is no government representative on this trust, no government representative on this account. Not even Dean Barrow is on this account. This is all Ashcroft's money. If it was government's money, then why would the government even have to pay Mr. Ashcroft? For a man who claims to be the beacon of transparency and accountability, the Prime Minister has disgraced himself and our nation."
60% of the award will be paid in Belize currency which government will raise through Treasury Bills.
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