Opposition Wants 3 Questions Answered by Senate Inquiry

Fallout continues from Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s decision to stop further allocations to the Senate Special Select Committee beyond November. At first the Prime Minister contended that further funding was needed for the Integrity Commission and implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. But the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry disproved this in a September twentieth statement outlining how much is needed for each. Last week P.M. Barrow changed his mind, insisting that Government needs a clear timeline to determine the extent of further funding, instead of keeping the inquiry open-ended and going on unreasonably. Opposition Leader John Briceño, however, told reporters on Saturday that that is not for the Prime Minister to determine; but he believes that the inquiry should not end without answers to three key questions.

John Briceño

John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader

“Who is the Prime Minister to determine the length of a Senate investigation? He was the very same person when he was Leader of the Opposition when we were in government pushing for a Senate investigation and the Senate investigation during the PUP time went on for about two years. You did not hear Said Musa, as prime minister, saying I’m not going to give them any more money. Same Minister Godwin Hulse was the one that flew to New York because he had to go and do his own investigation. He flew to Trinidad and Tobago because he has to go and interview the bankers. I did not hear the Prime Minister, then the Leader of the Opposition, say oh we are wasting money and we are wasting time. So I think he has no authority, moral or legal, to say that we need to put an end to the Senate inquiry. I believe the Senate inquiry should go as long as it is necessary. Not about just dragging it out, but as long as it is necessary for us to get to the bottom of one, what happened; two, who are the people that are legally responsible and guilty, and three, how can we fix the system to ensure that this never, ever, happens again.”