PM and Faber Have Heated Words Over Smart Contract

Patrick Faber

Late this afternoon, the Prime Minister and the U.D.P. Representative for Collet, Patrick Faber had a heated exchange about the Speednet contract for Microsoft Licensing for the government.

Patrick Faber, Area Representative, Collet

“This is the thing that really boils the blood of Belizean people, those public servants who you told you have to take a sacrifice because you haven’t taken any sacrifice yet. Ten percent of your pay gone those police officer, medical workers, frontline doctors who you didn’t bother to exempt, they too had to take the ten percent pay cut. And, all the fancies that you promise them that you would give them comfort, all kind of allowances, none of that have happened, but you are going to give your family’s company nine hundred thousand dollars and a big fat contract for a three point four million dollars. When you really investigate it madam speaker, this company doesn’t even deserve it. It doesn’t even qualify. When we looked at what was required, that bidding process required these companies be certified by Microsoft.”

John Briceño

Prime Minister John Briceño

“The problem with B.T.L. is that they are used to fleecing the government of Belize, and they believe that any price they put they can get it. And that is what happened with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Foreign affairs met with the people from B.T.L., met with the people from Smart, and because they are with Smart at this moment, they are saving three thousand dollars every single month. You see, it is so ironic that he gets more information from certain public officers than me as the Prime Minister of this country because it is obvious that they have their U.D.P. agents set up in this government, and they have them set up deliberately in a certain position to undermine the work of the government. That is what they did madam speaker. When we were sitting on the other side we got absolutely nothing from those same officers who all of a sudden are so pious and feel like they have to feed you information. The U.D.P. was fleecing this country to the tune of millions of dollars and they said nothing. Now, over a matter that was clear and transparent, they are trying to create an issue as if something went wrong. The same people from CITO and Ministry of Finance have disabused what the member of Collet has said, trying to confuse the people Madam Speaker.  Deh come yah, and like wih seh, deh just throw mud pan the wall and just hope that something is going to stick on the wall, trying to create aspersions and trying to dirty people name. That is what you are doing. You should be ashamed of it, man.”