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http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/theuhsdebt/



Petition sponsor: Association of Concerned Belizeans (ACB)
www.acb.org.bz


The petition



To Lord Michael Ashcroft and the Belize Bank Ltd.

The undersigned petitioners appeal to you to return to the People of Belize, the US$20 Million which was intended for poverty alleviation and low cost housing but was instead used to repay a debt to the Belize Bank Ltd. This was contrary to a legal Court Undertaking given by the Solicitor General of Belize in a Supreme Court case in which the Belize Bank Ltd is an interested party and therefore fully aware of the existence of this Undertaking.

We are very much pro-business and welcome foreign investment however (i) our love of country, (ii) a keen desire to maintain a socially responsible business community, and (iii) our respect for the rule of law, demand that we take this stand.

We highlight below the salient points as we understand the chain of events:

* On December 9th, 2004, the former Prime Minister of Belize, Said Musa, executed an unlimited guarantee in favour of the Belize Bank Ltd. (BBL) for a privately owned hospital called Universal Health Services (UHS).

* By March 23rd 2007 the outstanding debt from UHS to BBL had reached $33 Million. The former Prime Minister of Belize paid off the debt which he had obligated the country of Belize to when he gave the sovereign guarantee, with a loan from the same BBL. This loan, made in the name of Belize was in contravention of the Finance and Audit Reform Act 2005 of the Laws of Belize.

* General elections in Belize on February 7, 2008, resulted in a new Prime Minister, the Hon Dean Barrow. Shortly after taking office he advised the nation that US$10 Million of a US$20 Million grant from Venezuela gifted to the people of Belize for the alleviation of poverty was used to repay the debt with BBL. A few days later it was revealed that in similar fashion a grant of US$10 Million from the Republic of China on Taiwan also gifted to the people of Belize, was used for the same purpose. Both grants were appropriated contrary to the stated purposes agreed with the donor countries.

We the undersigned submit this petition to recoup the US$20 Million that was intended to help the poor and under-privileged people in our country. Our demand is in the context of:

1. The purpose for which the funds were intended.
2. Awareness by BBL that the funds were not intended to repay the UHS debt.
3. Awareness by BBL of the undertaking to the Courts not to repay the UHS debt until the pending Court Action was completed.



The Universal Health Centre has saved a number of lives that I hold near and dear to my heart. Without the state of the art diagnotic equipment and the skilled technical readings and analysis the outcomes could have been fatal.

I believe that the Belize needs the Universal Health Centre and anybody that has ever been a patient there or has a friend or family member that has been treated there most likely understands what I am saying.

Many of the politician and advocates against the UHS loan have also been treated there.

The Universal Health Centre offers an amazing diagnositic service and is staffed by many qualified specialists.

Many more Belizeans lives would be lost if this hospital service was not available.

Yes I pay my taxes and I am pleased to see that my contribution to the government went to at least one good cause that I have reaped the benefits from.
Unfortunately, that money went into the pockets of people, not to the hospital. Yes Belize needs better hospital care facilities, no question about that. But to do it to profit friends and cronies is not the way to do it. The hospital was founded on corruption in the original loan, and has continued to cost Belizeans who cannot afford to even use the facility.
Posted By: Anonymous Re: PETITION-The Belizean People want their money back - 04/02/08 12:35 AM
What he said
Is UHS still open?

Lord Michael will get back him $$ from the Belize economy even if forced to give some back. Hello? Why pull back the ears of the one big dog who can personally destabilize the entire economy of Belize in one transaction (yes he can, he did it before).

Let sleeping dog lie.

Get over it, it's all a big shell game.

SIN
Still open.
Excellent and may it continue to do so.
UHS had been a good facility I use at times for specific docs, not sure how it will be run under Dr Vinny who was well aware of the plan to embezzle US$20 mil plus from poor Belize people for benefit of himself, the initial investors and Michael Ashcroft. Medical credo is Do no Harm. They've harmed all 300,000 of us and aspirin won't alleviate this headache. The hospital was fleeced of medical equipment in the last days and some of the better docs with conscience left the facility a while ago. I want my money back and directed to the programs the Venezuelans and Taiwanese designated it for. And think we should spend our tax dollars beefing up our basic public health system and not private enterprises. UHS began as a scam and if they can't make a go if it, then declare it brain dead and take it off financial life support.
Problem I see it that UHS does nothing for the poor of Belize. That money was designated for the poor, and in this respect it is not helping them at all.
I am pretty sure that I saw the social security logo at Universal - which means that they treat social security claimants (doesn't it??)

I have seen many friends treated at KHMH and they were successfully seen too. Some with major surgeries, some birthing babies, and some that were treated for symptoms of heart attacks and strokes. There were many limitations regarding luxuries and I would certainly recommend going private if you can afford it, but KHMH is available to treat the poor and you can get in to see a specialist almost immediately which can often mean the difference in long or short follow up treatments.
We also saw the cabbie who was shot die, because his family did not have the money for scan to find the bullet at KHMH. Many inequeties still in the system. I have sat in UHS many times for many hours and never saw even a slightly indigent person served. Only for the middle and upper class who can pay.
If the GOB received all 30mill you can believe it would have been distributed in it's entirety prior to the elections.
Universal Health Services is not only the hospital in Belize City, but a chain of medical treatment facilities in Belize. Integral Health Services is also a part of it. You can't compare them to KHMH at all. I have seen patients of KHMH, that couldn't be treated there anymore being helped in UHS on many occasions. UHS has saved many lives in Belize and I for one am grateful that it still exists today!
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