Francis Fonseca
The House of Representatives met this morning in the Capital. The sitting concluded shortly after two this afternoon. On adjournment, members from across the aisle on the Opposition side brought up a number of issues of national importance. The immigration scandal involving the illegal issuance of a passport and nationality certificate to a South Korean fugitive, Won Hong Kim, was raised by the Leader of the Opposition. And there are new revelations that a number of passports and nationality documents were issued to other persons who not only did not quality, but had never set foot in Belize. On Thursday, COLA revealed selected sections of the Auditor-General’s report on the scandal. The report also contains information that the former minister Elvin Penner had taken files from the Immigration Department and that the sitting Minister of Immigration, Godwin Hulse, was well aware of it. The report made reference to stonewalling by the Ministry and particularly the Director of Immigration, Maria Marin. Today, Francis Fonseca lambasted the government saying G.O.B. is obstructing the investigation, while the PM says it’s just matter of being patient.
Francis Fonseca, P.U.P. Leader
“Obstruction was the order of the day. It is not us saying that; it is the Auditor General of Belize saying it was obstruction. Obstruction is the order of the day; there is no cooperation from the Department of Immigration…everybody is hiding, everybody is protecting the other one and protecting their U.D.P. cronies. That is what COLA has to say at their press conference when they revealed their preliminary report. And I have no expectations that that…we were awaiting that report. They categorize it as a preliminary report; we will take them at their word, but that report, we will await that report to be tabled here in the National Assembly.”
Dean Barrow
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
“The Auditor-General did submit a preliminary report to me—whether what COLA has in fact is that report, I don’t know and hence the difficulty of engaging on that issue. But what I will say is this that the report, that I have, makes absolutely clear that there is not another U.D.P. minister that the Auditor General is able to point to in connection with any irregularity in the slightest degree.”
Francis Fonseca
“The people of Belize deserve to know what the government knows. We understand that Senator Hulse has particular files in his possession; we understand again from COLA that particular files were taken out from of the Department of Immigration that are a part of this proposed prosecution. They deserve answers Mister Speaker and on behalf of the people of Belize, we are saying to the Government of Belize, this U.D.P. government; stop the cover up, stop the obstruction and come clean with the people of Belize.”
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