Today, the Senate met in Belmopan to discuss three pieces of legislation which passed through the House last week. The Immigration Amendment Bill, the Belizean Nationality Amendment Bill and the Passport Amendment Bill are designed to close doors of opportunity for lucrative corruption in the Immigration Department. We’ll have those highlights from what was a lively Senate debate a little later in the newscast. But first we go to an extended interview with Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse this evening. He spoke on a variety of topics including the evidence of a visa quota scheme in which U.D.P. Ministers and functionaries issued mass visa recommendations for Chinese nationals. News Five has shown documents showing visa recommendations pushed to and processed by Director of Immigration Maria Marin. Today Minister Godwin Hulse had his own visa list, and says that he’s not even slightly concerned by the mass recommendations signed by politicians including his own C.E.O. in the Ministry of Immigration, Candelaria Saldivar.
Godwin Hulse, Minister of Immigration
“Absolutely not. You just exonerated us. You have documents and lists showing two-three hundred. I am telling you thirty-eight was issues, sixty-one was issued, twenty-three was issued, eighty was issued, eighty was issued; that means the rest were rejected. That’s how the system works.”
Reporter
“We have receipts for all of them as well—receipt numbers, the numbers for all of them that went in that were approved.”
Godwin Hulse
Godwin Hulse
“That may be fine, but these are the numbers. So if you have receipt numbers and so forth for things beyond the figures that we have here, I would happy to see them my friend because that would mean that something went wrong. But I have to go by the figures given to us.”
Reporter
“You said that there has been no investigation into any of those lists. Isn’t there some concern even if it is just to exonerate the ministry and to say you know what if we have documents for one-fifty or two hundred that were signed—and all of them were recommended by U.D.P. functionaries, by ministers of government. Isn’t there some concern that some point you know what we might want to check into this at least if only to exonerate the ministry?”
Godwin Hulse
“Your guess is as good as mine; the Auditor General would do that. Why would I want to do that? My concern is to make sure that every visa that is issued by that department was issued legitimately, the fee was paid, the person satisfied the requirements; done because that is the person coming to Belize. If somebody say bwai bring so and so, bring so. I could also tell you lots of names of people who have been requesting visa, requesting visa and everything and they have been refused. They’ve been refused. Now if you tell me that somebody was refused—you have the evidence that they were refused—but they wound up getting the visa, oh yes, I launch it right now.”
Reporter
“But sir, even if you have one minister who had recommended forty-eight in one month. Anybody that I’ve spoken to has said you know what that’s kinda strange. You might be obligated to sign one or two…”
Godwin Hulse
“Obligated to sign what?”
Reporter
“…To sign a recommendation. But forty-eight ina one month; that noh give you the impression that maybe something…”
Godwin Hulse
“What something?”
Reporter
“Money. The minister is getting paid.”
Godwin Hulse
“So? How can I know that? How can I investigate that?”
Reporter
“By investigating it.”
Godwin Hulse
“Investigating how?”
Reporter
“Calling the minister; try to find the persons…”
Godwin Hulse
“And weh yo think ih wah say?”
Reporter
“I don’t know weh ih wah say.”
Godwin Hulse
“And what would the persons paying him say? You know that is the problem with talking about corruption; if you are using that. I pay you something secret. You know why I never agreed at all and will never agree on this silliness about financial contributions for elections because let me tell you something mi friend, if money pass from one to the next without no receipt, no documentation and soh, you spitting in the wind. My concern—and let it be very clear—is that if you can show me that the minister recommended forty visas, as you say, those were rejected by the department but the persons wound up with visas and wound up coming into Belize; that’s a different story. I’ll take it up right now. But if he recommended a hundred, I go by what the director, who is the person issuing visas is responsible for.”
Reporter
“But however, I don’t want to be casting implications on the director—I don’t know the person—but might there be, as we have alluded to earlier, a parallel system where visas are issued through the front—and those are the ones you have on the paper, but there is a backdoor that you can also get your visas and this is arranged X, Y and Z way and you check with me later?”
Godwin Hulse
“Well let me tell you something Jules, if I ever find that out—and that’s what the auditor may find out—that’s why they are auditing; I noh di audit. If I ever find that out, you will see how I deal with that because that is totally, completely unequivocally wrong and fraudulent.”
Reporter
“But until we have the serial number for every visa accounted for, we don’t know?”
Godwin Hulse
“Exactly and that is what the auditor is doing.”
On Thursday we will compare visa lists, since Hulse’s figures of visas provided to Chinese nationals, on first glance, seem to differ significantly to those we’ve gotten.
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