It seems as if Mr. Michael Ashcroft will not stop pursuing the people and Government of Belize for this 33.5 million dollars that he claims he is owed. I have heard our Prime Minister The Right Honorable Dean Barrow said over and over again that in his opinion, the then Prime Minister Said Musa and his Attorney General Francis Fonseca now the leader of the People’s United Party (PUP), acted illegally by approving the payment of the loan without the approval of the Belize’s National Assembly.
Now, it is clear that the Supreme Court Judge is in agreement with their line of argument. Knowing them, they will never be satisfied with this Judge’s ruling because they think that because they have money we in Belize must succumb to them. Our country cannot afford to pay this kind of money to anybody. Especially, when most of our people did not benefit from the use of Universal Health Services. Even up to today, the average Belizean citizen cannot afford the cost of the healthcare this institution provides. Also, within the PUP Cabinet at the time there were ministers of government who were opposed to the government paying this money but Said Musa and his Attorney General Francis Fonseca went ahead and paid it anyway.
Mr. Ashcroft is going to instruct his lawyers to appeal this case to the Belize Court of Appeals and then to the Caribbean Court of Justice (C.C.J.). However, what will happen if he ends up losing this case in both courts? In my opinion he could decide to just let it rest, take back the company and its assets or contemplate bringing legal action against Said Musa and Francis Fonseca his two friends for the decision they made. A business cannot just lose 33.5 million dollars like that without getting back its money. This is where this case is heading and it will cause problems between them and the PUP. According to most of the Belizean people I have spoken to here in the United States and in Belize, they are against any government of Belize paying 33.5 million dollars to Mr. Ashcroft and if they pay it, they will suffer in the next General Election to be held. This was one of the issue raised in the 2008 General Elections when the U.D.P. defeated the P.U.P. by a landslide 26 to 5 seats.
Prolonging this issue could also bring back some bad memories to Belizeans from 2008 and that could impact on the political careers of Said Musa in Fort George Division and Francis Fonseca in Freetown Division. I think that this issue should be a part of their re-election campaign because it has something to do with our nation’s wealth. We cannot afford to have our politicians making these major decisions on their own, without abiding by the constitution of our country. When a politician is elected, he or she must swear to an oath, that they will uphold and defend the constitution of our country. Any breach of such an oath, should be grounds for removal from office through a recall process. If this is not written in the laws of Belize, then what is the sense of having our elected representatives swearing to an oath. Again, I call on my fellow Belizeans to pay keen interest to this constitutional issue at hand. Our country is in deep trouble an it is our responsibility to save it.
