Late this evening, Cabinet issued a release in response to an ongoing check scandal involving U.D.P. Minister of State Edmond Castro and the Belize Airports Authority. Castro came under fire after checks surfaced drawn on the operating account of the BAA which indicated that he had gotten money from that body for personal and political gain. On Monday director of Civil Aviation Lindsay Garbutt admitted to News Five that the Board of the BAA approved what he called ‘assistance’ for Minister Edmond Castro – including donations to persons he recommended, paying for political events he hosted and paying personal and political expenses. Well today after Cabinet fully reviewed the matter, it issued a lengthy release. In its release, Cabinet states that, “After due consideration, including hearing from Minister Castro himself, Cabinet was of the view that while there was nothing illegal in the actions of either the BAA or the Minister, there was poor judgment leading to a perception of abuse of authority on both sides.” So with that said, the Prime Minister took three actions…The first is that the portfolio of Civil Aviation, which includes the Airport Authority and over which Minister Castro exercised day to day jurisdiction, will be removed from the Ministry of Transport and placed with the Ministry of Tourism. It sounds like a big deal, but it really isn’t. Castro remains the Minister of State in the Ministry of Works and Transport, with full responsibility for Transportation. The second recommendation is that the Solicitor General and the Financial Secretary will be tasked to meet with all statutory bodies to review operational protocols. And the third action taken by the Prime Minister is that the current directors of the BAA will be asked to resign. That amounts to a significant shakeup of the BAA, but we reiterate that Minister of State Edmond Castro remains untouched despite evidence that he used public monies entrusted to him for personal and political gain.
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