<p><strong style="font-size:13px;"><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-94881" title="Castro Cheques Up" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225"/></a>Minister of State in the Ministry of Transport, Edmond Castro, has been in the hot seat for some time. But this time, he came under fire after Belize Airports Authority cheques surfaced, along with the allegations that the statutory body had been playing a second role as the Minister’s cash cow. At the House meeting last Wednesday, a meeting which Castro did not attend, Prime Minister Dean Barrow confirmed that he had spoke to his junior minister about the matter. The PM called the fleecing of the BAA wrong and distasteful and threatened immediate termination for BAA board members if they ever did it again. Mike Rudon spoke to Board Member, Lindsay Garbutt and has an update on the Castro cheque controversy.</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Mike Rudon, Reporting</strong></p>
<p>There are seventy-eight cheques in all – drawn on the operating account of the Belize Airports Authority. Several of them are made out directly to Edmond Castro…some to family members and others to fund his political causes, like educational grants, his cycling team, paying for his political constituency bashes…that sort of thing. Yet, the BAA is standing by its Minister all the way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt, Board Member, BAA</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_94878" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width:160px;"><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0004.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-94878" title="Lindsay Garbutt" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0004-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Lindsay Garbutt</p></div>
<p><em>“I think that when you look at the quantum of the cheques and you carefully analyze them, I think you would be able to come to a different conclusion. I certainly do not think that the allegation that suggests that Minister Castro benefitted directly or indirectly from all those cheques, I think that is totally not true.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Contrary to Garbutt’s assertion, there is evidence that Minister of State Castro benefitted both directly and indirectly, financially and politically, from the use of funds from the BAA’s operating account.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt</strong></p>
<p><em>“Another cheque for four thousand dollars was given to him to assist with funeral expenses for his mother. You know frankly Mister Rudon, we considered carefully that request. Anyone that has been around Minister Castro recognizes the amount of money that he puts into every death related to people having to do with his constituency. You know and certainly in providing that assistance to him, what I as a member of the board, looked at was an opportunity to now provide assistance to a minister who has helped his entire constituency. He has twenty-seven communities and we know that all those people wanted to go to pay their respects to him and the death of his mother. And so we felt that if we could assist in that, we would and we did.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0007.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-94882" title="Castro Cheques Up0007" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0007-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a>Not all the seventy-eight cheques can be linked to Castro. Some of them are for genuine BAA expenses. That’s about the only thing the BAA can hold onto at this point. Take these cheques to Bowen and Bowen, for example…</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt</strong></p>
<p><em>“The BAA provides activities, provides sponsorship for activities to assist with events; some of those events may have been held in the constituency; we have events of our own. So when we feel that it is something that we could afford, we look carefully at it and we provide the support.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Mike Rudon</strong></p>
<p>“And these in particular you can’t tell me right off—I know it is some time ago—you couldn’t right off if these were political events? The end of 2013 and then in 2012; and then there is one for Caribbean Chicken…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt<a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0003.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-94880" title="Castro Cheques Up0003" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0003-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a></strong></p>
<p><em>“If you notice those cheques, one of them to Bowen and Bowen was made close to Christmas time and we provide the support for activities in regards to celebration for Christmas in those communities and the other one was around September time and we provided support for that.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Mike Rudon</strong></p>
<p>“Two political functions hosted by Minister Castro?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt</strong></p>
<p><em>“If you call Independence Day political…I mean everybody in Belize supports independence. If you are telling me that only political people were at these things, I mean, I can respect your opinion. I don’t agree with that. we felt that we were contributing to activities for both events in these communities.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0006.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-94879" title="Castro Cheques Up0006" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0006-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a>So in the end it boils down to this…the BAA does not agree that it did anything wrong.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt</strong></p>
<p><em>“To give the idea that all these cheques issues in all these names were issued with the idea of benefiting Minister Castro is not only ludicrous; it seems also malicious.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>But the statutory body has decided to suspend its entire ‘assistance’ program.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt<a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0001.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-94883" title="Castro Cheques Up0001" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0001-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a></strong></p>
<p><em>“We looked at these circumstances when they arose and we made the decision that we thought was the best decision to make at that time. Certainly some of them we would not make if we were to be faced with them again. We believe that we must continue as an entity in this country to provide social assistance, but quite frankly, there are some things that we will definitely not do again. As a matter of fact, we have suspended under evaluating the entire process of providing assistance.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Garbutt says that no member of the board feels that they were involved in any way in corruption. Mike Rudon for News Five.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Last week, we tried to get a comment from Minister Castro, but he told us that he didn’t sign the cheques, so he couldn’t comment. </strong></p>
View the full article
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Mike Rudon, Reporting</strong></p>
<p>There are seventy-eight cheques in all – drawn on the operating account of the Belize Airports Authority. Several of them are made out directly to Edmond Castro…some to family members and others to fund his political causes, like educational grants, his cycling team, paying for his political constituency bashes…that sort of thing. Yet, the BAA is standing by its Minister all the way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt, Board Member, BAA</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_94878" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width:160px;"><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0004.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-94878" title="Lindsay Garbutt" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0004-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Lindsay Garbutt</p></div>
<p><em>“I think that when you look at the quantum of the cheques and you carefully analyze them, I think you would be able to come to a different conclusion. I certainly do not think that the allegation that suggests that Minister Castro benefitted directly or indirectly from all those cheques, I think that is totally not true.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Contrary to Garbutt’s assertion, there is evidence that Minister of State Castro benefitted both directly and indirectly, financially and politically, from the use of funds from the BAA’s operating account.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt</strong></p>
<p><em>“Another cheque for four thousand dollars was given to him to assist with funeral expenses for his mother. You know frankly Mister Rudon, we considered carefully that request. Anyone that has been around Minister Castro recognizes the amount of money that he puts into every death related to people having to do with his constituency. You know and certainly in providing that assistance to him, what I as a member of the board, looked at was an opportunity to now provide assistance to a minister who has helped his entire constituency. He has twenty-seven communities and we know that all those people wanted to go to pay their respects to him and the death of his mother. And so we felt that if we could assist in that, we would and we did.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0007.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-94882" title="Castro Cheques Up0007" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0007-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a>Not all the seventy-eight cheques can be linked to Castro. Some of them are for genuine BAA expenses. That’s about the only thing the BAA can hold onto at this point. Take these cheques to Bowen and Bowen, for example…</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt</strong></p>
<p><em>“The BAA provides activities, provides sponsorship for activities to assist with events; some of those events may have been held in the constituency; we have events of our own. So when we feel that it is something that we could afford, we look carefully at it and we provide the support.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Mike Rudon</strong></p>
<p>“And these in particular you can’t tell me right off—I know it is some time ago—you couldn’t right off if these were political events? The end of 2013 and then in 2012; and then there is one for Caribbean Chicken…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt<a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0003.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-94880" title="Castro Cheques Up0003" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0003-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a></strong></p>
<p><em>“If you notice those cheques, one of them to Bowen and Bowen was made close to Christmas time and we provide the support for activities in regards to celebration for Christmas in those communities and the other one was around September time and we provided support for that.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Mike Rudon</strong></p>
<p>“Two political functions hosted by Minister Castro?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt</strong></p>
<p><em>“If you call Independence Day political…I mean everybody in Belize supports independence. If you are telling me that only political people were at these things, I mean, I can respect your opinion. I don’t agree with that. we felt that we were contributing to activities for both events in these communities.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0006.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-94879" title="Castro Cheques Up0006" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0006-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a>So in the end it boils down to this…the BAA does not agree that it did anything wrong.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt</strong></p>
<p><em>“To give the idea that all these cheques issues in all these names were issued with the idea of benefiting Minister Castro is not only ludicrous; it seems also malicious.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>But the statutory body has decided to suspend its entire ‘assistance’ program.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Lindsay Garbutt<a rel="nofollow" class="highslide" target="_blank" href="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0001.jpg"><img class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-94883" title="Castro Cheques Up0001" src="http://edition.channel5belize.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Castro-Cheques-Up0001-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150"/></a></strong></p>
<p><em>“We looked at these circumstances when they arose and we made the decision that we thought was the best decision to make at that time. Certainly some of them we would not make if we were to be faced with them again. We believe that we must continue as an entity in this country to provide social assistance, but quite frankly, there are some things that we will definitely not do again. As a matter of fact, we have suspended under evaluating the entire process of providing assistance.”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Garbutt says that no member of the board feels that they were involved in any way in corruption. Mike Rudon for News Five.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Last week, we tried to get a comment from Minister Castro, but he told us that he didn’t sign the cheques, so he couldn’t comment. </strong></p>
View the full article