Senator Coye Raises Issue of Abuse of Power in Upper House

Wrapping up his statement, Senator Coye didn’t hold back on criticizing the abuse of power in parliament, especially in the upper house. After dropping that bombshell, he excused himself from the hearing, which led to an immediate adjournment and a huddle in the committee room.

 

Chris Coye, Minister of Finance

“As much as conservation is a national priority, it should never be that nature positive conservation should have priority over people positive sustainable human development.  There is no doubt that the Senate or any Committee of the Senate has the powers to conduct enquiries and investigations on any matter of public interest or importance. At the same time, just as with any other authority that enjoys powers and discretions, those powers of the Senate can be abused. The Senate and any Committee thereof must be resolutely sure not to abuse their powers or be manipulated into abusing their powers to serve third party special interests including foreign interests, but rather to act reasonably and judiciously in the public interest of Belize and its citizenry alone.  Thank you.”

 

Janelle Chanona

“Thank you, senator.”

 

Chris Coye

“I will be excusing myself.  That’s the extent of the statement I have to give today and the evidence that is being provided to this committee.”

 

Janelle Chanona

“Before you leave, I was only going to ask a few things, so hear me out before you make your decision.  One would be for a copy, I mean we can transcribe it, but if you have a copy, if you could send it to the clerk so we can add it to our files.  And two, just to confirm, we would have started with an introduction of who you are and your capacities.  Is that also your preference that you depart before you table those for the record?”

 

Chris Coye

“I think you know who I am.”

 

Despite calling for an adjournment, the session was cancelled at 1:30 p.m.