The Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court) has ordered the ministro de Hacienda (Finance minister), Guillermo Zúñiga, to hand over to the Spanish language daily, La Nación, all the information related to the purchase of Costa Rican bonds by China.
The bond purchase occurred eights months ago and it has been eight months of secrecy and deceit by the government of Oscar Arias, including his Hacienda minister, who flatly refused to provide the daily with any details of the bond purchase.
The ministro de Hacienda refusal led to the La Nación to file an appeal with the Sala IV on March 11.
The Court decision handed down on Friday was unanimous in ordering the Hacienda minister to hand over all information on the financial transaction.
"I am very happy that the Sala IV ruled in out favour over access to the information relating to the debt by all Costa Ricans as the subjet is of public interest", said Alejandro Urbina, director of La Nación.
Urbina added that the Constitutional Court decision is a reaffirmation of Costa Rica s right of freedom of expression.
"The 8 months were 8 months of arbitrariness that the Government said that the people had no right to know how, when and under what conditions it was indebted", added Urbina.
It wasn t until late last week that Costa Rican president let out minute details of the bond purchase, finally making public that the interest rate on the bonds were below 4%. The president had maintained a hard line saying that he had to first confer with the Chinese before making any details public.
Earlier this week more information was revealed on the bond issue and perhaps the catalyst for the court ruling, when it was learned that the bonds were being safeguarded by the private bank, BCT and not a state bank and the Costa Rican ambassador to China, Antonio Burgues , had ties to the BCT.
BCT officials were quick to say that had resigned from the bank s board of directors July 2007, shortly before he became ambassador to China.
The purchase by the Chinese is in two parts: us$150 million are already purchased and a promise to purchase another us$150 million in 2009.
The Hacienda minister insinuated that the pressure by the press to learn the details could place the completion of the transaction in jeopardy.
Following the court decision, the Ministro de Hacienda revealed the following information on the bonds transaction:
- The us$150 million purchase is for a period of 12 years
- There were no intermediaries in the transaction nor any commissions paid
- The mechanisms was a direct placement and in dollars
- The interest rate is 2%
- The purchase was a direct trade between the two countries
- The emission date was January 23, 2008.
Source: http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2008/september/06/nac02.htm