Belize PM, Dean Barrow responsible for addressing TCL, CCJ conflict of interets concerns raised by CARICOM Heads.

President’s statement on TCL ‘factual’

A statement issued by the Government Information Agency (GINA) yesterday said that President Bharrat Jagdeo’s comments at a press conference earlier in the week about the TCL matter were factual and were intended to clarify ongoing media questions.

Following is the GINA statement:
It has come to the notice of the Administration that the TCL Group has sought to characterise as an improper representation of fact, President Bharrat Jagdeo's comments surrounding media queries about the conflict of interest issue involving TCL and its litigation at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

The Office of the President advises that President Jagdeo's comment at a recent press conference was intended to clarify ongoing media questions and reports that are focusing on claims of conflict of interest involving TCL.

The Administration further advises that President Jagdeo's statement at that press conference was factual and that indeed the issue of conflict of interest was a subject of deliberation by the Heads of the CARICOM Community, following which, Prime Minister of Belize, Dean Barrow was made responsible for addressing their concerns with the principals. Thus the President's disclosure was factual and incontrovertible that the Heads of Government discussed the issue of conflict of interest by TCL.

Despite TCL's protestations about this matter, President Jagdeo was under no obligation to be ambiguous in his representation.

Furthermore, the crux of the matter remains TCL’s inability to provide the region with reliable and competitively priced supplies of cement.