Sunday, November 25, 2012
THE BELIZE TIMES
Reid Don’t shove PAC under the rug By G. Mike Reid The hullabaloo surrounding the Public Accounts Committee has died down some but it is in the interest of all Belizeans to revive this and keep it going. While many have, as is the case with just about every subject in Belize, pigeonholed this issue as just another red and blue rift, it is far from being that and is a matter that should be in everyone’s interest to pursue further. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is one of six House Committees but the only one that is chaired by a member of the opposition. There is, without doubt, a very good reason why the framers of our Constitution decided to implement this safeguard as it is designed to hold our elected officials accountable. For the most part, everything else gives the majority members in the House a free run of things and it is utterly ridiculous to run a government without some sort of checks and balances in place. What the people of Belize should realize, is that what Julius Espat is trying to do, will not just work to hold this current government in check, but any subsequent government that comes into office. Once the PAC becomes active and functional, it will not be easy to
break the fetters that we so desperately need to bind these politicians to the order of good governance. A main function of the PAC is to examine the report of the Auditor General. Unfortunately, the Public Accounts Committee has been practically dormant for many, many years. As a result, it matters not what type of damning evidence is produced in the Auditor General’s Report or even if there is any report at all. Without a functional Public Accounts Committee, the government of the day can do whatever it wants to with taxpayer’s money and has no one to answer to. Honorable Julius Espat should be considered heroic for what he is trying to do. It will not be popular in Belmopan and already the smear campaign is in full effect. Last week, the UDP’s El Guardian dedicated its entire front page to the disparaging of Espat and the UDP radio station has been constantly ridiculing and deriding this honorable member of the House. The fact is that never has a head of this committee, neither blue nor red, stood so resolute to demand performance by the committee. In an interview on Love FM, Prime Minister Dean Barrow, among other things, discussed the controversy surrounding the PAC. Unfortunately, instead of looking into the matter with a fair mind and with an end toward finding the truth about what was happening, the Prime Minister immediately took up the defense of his Ministers. It is obvious that the Prime Minister and his ministers, who sit on the committee, met and got their stories together. They all seemed to be singing from the same song sheet. Mr. Barrow had just returned from one of his many and extended trips abroad and would obviously have had no firsthand knowledge of what was going on. Yet, he professed to know
The Chamber of Commerce, the Opposition and indeed the people of Belize need to continue to demand that this Public Accounts Committee get busy and get on with the work that it was established to do.”
word for word what had transpired in the meeting and who said what and when and even what the agenda was supposed to have and not have. When asked about a very current situation however, that being the McAfee affair, the Prime Minister denied knowing the man or anything about the man. “If you show me his picture”, said the Prime Minister, “I would not be able to recognize him”. This after McAfee’s picture had been plastered all over the news for several days and after the same McAfee had donated on several occasions to the Police Department. The Prime Minister also seemed to know very little about anything else that had been happening in the country. It seems that all Mr. Barrow’s attention had been focused entirely on matters connected to or coincidental with the Public Affairs Committee. The truth of the matter is that had not the President of the Chamber of Commerce taken the time to write a letter to both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition demanding action, there probably would not have been a quorum for that meeting; which has been the case for just about every meeting of this committee since Independence. The Chamber of Commerce, the Opposition and indeed the people of Belize need to continue to demand that this Public Accounts Committee get busy and get on with the work that it was established to do. The Prime Minister and his ministers have all stated that they are anxious to see this committee work. Why then do they continue their attempt to frustrate the process? Instead of attacking Julius Espat and using the standing orders as an obstacle, the members of the committee should get on with the task of dissecting the Auditor General’s Reporting and questioning the Auditor General herself. This is not about Julius Espat, it is about the good governance which was the very platform upon which this party ran and which was prominently promised in the manisfesto of the United Democratic Party. The Prime Minister also stated that once the committee gets active, he does not want the committee to review anything current. He wants the committee to start back as early as 1999, which was the beginning of the first term of the last administration. This is an entirely arrogant and ridiculous suggestion. Let the committee start current and then work its way back as it finds the time. If that’s the case, we can work back as far as Independence but to ignore what is happening now and concentrate instead on what has happened then is ludicrous. That was the job for committees back then which were in fact, chaired of members of this government which was then in opposition. Obviously, none of them had the will or integrity of a Julius Espat. Let us all stand behind Julius and insist that the Public Accounts Committee perform its function and hold this runaway government in check. Big respect to Julius Espat for his bold intiative!
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Liquor License NOTICES Notice is hereby given that Nilda Valasquez is applying for a Night Club License to be operated at “Lion King Club”, #37 King Street, Belize City under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980. Notice is hereby given that Chong Wu Tan is applying for a Publican Special Liquor License to be operated at “Bian Wen Diner”, #34 East Collet Canal, Belize City under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980. Notice is hereby given that Jian Huan Jiang is applying for a Malt and Cider License to be operated at “Holiday Food House”, #13 Orange Street, Belize City under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980. Notice is hereby given that Huiqun Chen is applying for a Shop Liquor License to be operated at “Ketty’s Shop”, #1221 Blue Marlin Avenue, Belize City under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980. Notice is hereby given that Li Zhong Ming is applying for a Shop Liquor License to be operated at “Li Zhong Ming Shop”, #13 Fabers Road, Belize City under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980. Notice is hereby given that Mario Ayuso is applying for a Malt and Cider License to be operated at “Aisha’s”, #4 Corner 1st and St. Peter’s, Belize City under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.