A week ago, we showed you Prime Minister Dean Barrow's response to a question in last Friday's House Meeting. It was about the proposed government purchase of Senate President Lee Mark Chang's Chon Saan building in Belmopan. The Government is seeking to buy a new building for the Immigration Department, but the Prime Minister said last week that Chang's asking price to sell to them is $300,000 more than the Government is willing to pay.
Today, when we met Chang at another event, we asked him about the Prime Minister's suggestion that his price is too high, and shared an appraisal done on the building by the firm Mahung and Partners Limited. Seen here, these valuers have assessed the building and they say that it is worth 2 million dollars, or 1.8 million if Chang and his family are forced to sell it under duress.
The Government has done its own independent valuation of the building, and their expert puts the value lower. So, is the Senate President and his family prepared to bring the price down to close the sale?
That's what we asked him, but it appears that Chang was itching for someone to come asking about it so that he could get the opportunity to maul the media house - not us - who reported that he was asking the Government for 4 million dollars. Here's how he put it:
Hon. Lee Mark Chang - President of the Senate
"First of all, I would like to say that I wish you guys would have come earlier, rather than speculating in the media and throwing out these bogus prices. 4 million dollars is ridiculous. I don't know which irresponsible media said that. It's not even half of that. My asking price is 1.65 million dollars. My estimate came in at 2 million dollars. We've negotiated, and we have not had any settlement, or any type of agreement. We are all in discussion. Prior to any signing of any agreement, I would need to notify the Governor General, in writing, of my intent on what is to move forward. So, we're still in discussion. So, there is no signing and no 4 million dollar deal."
Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"Given that this is the Government's assessment, and their rejection of your first offer, are you minded to decrease the price because he did say that, there's no..."
Hon. Lee Mark Chang
"There's no way he'll buy it for that price, that's what you're trying to say. It's all in discussion. It's all in discussion, and it's all about compromise, and when you go into a negotiation, there is always compromise. If there is no compromise, it's lopsided, and then there is no discussion."
As we told you, the building that the Immigration Department is currently housed in is decrepit; it's leaky; and it has mold. The US Government has promised to donate a brand new 2 million dollar passport machine, but it will not do so if the Immigration Department remains at its current location.
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