Belmopan- The Public Service Union and the Belmopan City Council (BCC) are at odds with one another over the sale as what has become know as the PSU Headquarters.
While the PSU claimed to be surprisde and said that they were having discussion ‘in good faith’ for the purchase of the Hilltop building, BCC claims the existence of ‘huge arrears’ in payments since the original agreement to purchase the building by the Union. On top of that, BCC claims that they could not reach an agreement with PSU about the selling price of the building involved.
“The building used for the PSU headquarters is situated on Parcel No. 6061 owned by the BCC and was first leased to the PSU in 2001 for a term of 20 years at the rate of $500 per month. Subsequent to the signing of that agreement, a new lease was signed in 2003 for a term of 20 years with a monthly rental in the amount of $500 with an option to purchase upon completion of the contract. All payments made over the course of the lease would then be applied to the purchase of the property if the Union chose to exercise their option to purchase”, according to a press release from BCC.
The Council also claims there were huge arrears in payments by the PSU and that the Council failed to reach an agreement on the purchase price for the building.
“The BCC offered the property for purchase at a heavily discounted price of $503,810.54. The PSU then made a counterproposal of $187,278.70 which was less than half of the already discounted valuation. While in negotiations with the PSU, an offer was made to the BCC and was accepted in the amount of $400,000 which is more than double the PSU’s best and final offer” according to the press release.
PSU calls the action by the BCC a ‘malicious act’ and is calling for action and solidarity from its members to counteract the decision made by the Capital’s City Council. The union is also adamant that it will not be moved and is not planning to vacate the building.