Sunday, September 26, 2010
The Belize Times
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CONFLICT OF INTEREST! SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 2010
The Social Security Board (SSB) empowers the Investment Committee (IC) to direct the Social Security Board “to give general or specific directions from time to time on the investment of moneys in the Fund which are surplus to the current needs”. Adopted from: Chapter 44 of the Laws of Belize Section 49 and Subsection (6) Many Belizeans were expecting some big news from the Prime Minster on Independence Day about the sale of BTL, and while he announced plans, the news never came. Perhaps it didn’t because he could not announce that Social Security would be picking up the tab. That announcement had to be delayed because the investment committee was not quite ready to make a decision on the investment in BTL. On Monday, September 20, 2010, the Investment Committee of the SSB met at their Belize City Office to again consider an investment of BZ
Issue No. 4712
$50m in BTL. A previous meeting had been held where the non-government members refused to take a vote as there was not enough information for them to make a qualified decision. At this second meeting an actual vote took place. According to reliable sources, both the Private Sector Representative and the Unions Representative voted ag ainst the investment. The two g over nment representatives however voted in favour
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of the investment. This produced an equality of votes causing the Chairman of the Investment Committee, Mr Nestor Vasquez who is also Chairman of the BTL Board, to use his casting vote to ensure that the decision to advise the SSB to invest past. This decision of the Investment Committee should reach the Social Security Board anytime soon where they will make the final decision. It is now known that the reason
the non-g overnment representatives of the IC voted against the investment was because they had not yet seen the BTL Prospectus which would allow them to have infor mation to make a more knowledgeable decision. It was also their concern to get assurances from the Government as to the insulation of the “New BTL” from all the court action against it and the Government of Belize (GOB). What is a crying shame is that the Bar row’s UDP Administration with all the players in place, Net Vasquez and Lois Young in control of both BTL and SSB, were ready to push the sale down the throats of the Union and Private Sector representatives. These people are now asking “where is the accountability and transparency promised by this government?” Shouldn’t Mr Vasquez, for ethical reasons, recuse himself (Continued on pg. 3)
MATTHEW HEADED Independence Day STRAIGHT FOR BELIZE Address
As we g o to Press, the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) is on full alert, schools have been told to suspend classes and the weekend will be spent in final preparations for Matthew, which is currently a tropical storm that is expected to strengthen. The system developed off the coast of Nicaragua on Wednesday and by 3:00pm Thursday the hurricane hunters clocked it with wind gusts
of up to 40 to 45 miles per hour. Matthew is the 15th tropical system and the 13th named storm of the 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season. As is mandated when the storm crosses the 80 deg ree longitude meridian the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) expects to declare Preliminary Phase I. This occur red at 6.am. Friday morning. Local forecasters (Continued on pg. 3)
See page 4
Is NEMO Ready for Mathew?