And back in the House, the government brought a US $30 million loan motion. This loan is being provided by the OPEC Fund for International Development and will be used to upgrade the George Price Highway from Hattieville to La Democracia.
The Leader of the Opposition noted that yet another loan motion is being brought to the House, and that once again, they received the details of the motion less than 24 hours before the meeting:
Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition
"Here we go again. Another sitting, another supplementary order paper, another loan motion. We received notice last night to debate this loan motion today. As we understand it, the OPEC Fund Board approved this financing on the 16th of September. The government had two months. This House is now being given less than 24 hours. How do we scrutinize a commitment of this magnitude in less than a day? I wish to be fair—the need for this road is not in dispute. Anyone who travels between Hattieville and La Democracia knows about the flooding and knows about the danger after dark. Every village along that route and every commuter between Belize City and Belmopan deserves a safe and modern highway. It seems that somehow we have our priorities misaligned. How do we seek another US 30 million dollars? Another 60 million dollars for road infrastructure when the people of this country have more urgent and pressing needs?"
But the Minister of Infrastructure rebutted her claims, saying that he has personally tried to set up a meeting to discuss the loan and the works it will be used for. He then threw some digs at the UDP, and a back-and-forth between him and the Leader of the Opposition ensued:
Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure
"The Leader of the Opposition was in government at the time when the Prime Minister of the country, the Honorable Dean Barrow, borrowed subsequent loan totaling up to 1.5 billion dollars—and I'm reminded that our past Prime Minister said billion with a B. 1.5 billion dollars without having the respect, the courtesy, whatever you want to call it, to bring those loan motions to the court. They were never brought; we had to go to court. It got to the point where the political interference was so much that they did not allow the judge to do a written judgment—they stuck it at the point of a verbal judgment and then he was dismissed and sent away; it got to that point. And so the Leader of the Opposition comes in here and tries to portray this situation that we are not informing them, when every single loan motion that this government has done from I have been in this House as part of government, we have come to this House."
"As the Leader of the Opposition said, I called her personally, I spoke to members of the Senate personally to say, ‘Guys, we have this information—let's meet, let's come together to look at the information before it comes here.' It didn't work out for whatever reason—I'm not blaming anybody—but it didn't work out, but the intent was there."
"The UDP government had access to the famous PetroCaribe money, 600 million dollars, and any one of them over there cannot tell us what that money was spent for. 600 million dollars PetroCaribe money, and they cannot tell us what the money was used for—and if they can, I would love for any one of you to stand up to tell us what was the PetroCaribe funds used for. I'm not disrespecting you; how am I disrespecting you? Because I am speaking the truth, you are offended? Is that what offends you, that we speak the truth? Don't go that way. Don't go in that direction. You like to play the victim—I'm not with that."
House Speaker
"Members, members."
Email
Print