HISTORIC BILLS READ AT HOUSE SITTING

Continued from page 8 dom of Saudi Arabia, I am most pleased to report to the nation that we have been able to secure ninety million dollars for the construction of a new one hundred and fifty bed modern national referral tertiary care hospital in Belize.”

This Briceño administration also introduced a bill to the House of Representatives that is one of the steps forward in tackling the scourge of corruption in Belize. The Civil Asset Recovery and Unexplained Wealth Bill will give the Government of Belize, through the Financial Intelligence Unit, the authority to recover assets and wealth acquired by individuals through criminal means.

So, for context, the F.I.U., under the act, will be given the power to acquire an Unexplained Wealth Order where suspicion arises. The order once issued will require individuals to explain and reveal their source of assets and wealth before the High Court. Prime Minister John Briceño explained.

Prime Minister John Briceño, “The Civil Recovery Authority will need to obtain a preliminary unexplained Wealth Order requiring an individual to file a declaration of wealth and appear before the high court to answer questions. If the individual provides misleading information, it may amount to an offense. What is important here is that we want to have the FIU ability to be able to go after unexplained wealth and assets that were illegally taken. But at the same time, we have to ensure we protect the rights of individuals because as I said in this country we live by the principle that you are presumed innocent until proven guilty But we are also pointing out that that individual also has to come clean, to provide evidence how he or she or the company acquired that asset or who that wealth is in his or her possession. We also know we have all these drug people, drug lords within the country and they don’t work but are driving these fancy vehicles. This will give us the ability to pull them in and explain how they have their wealth, what work they do.”

Even the Leader of the Opposition, Moses ‘Shyne’ Barrow supports this Bill he explains.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition, “No politician should come into politics to become wealthy. You come into politics to advocate on behalf of the people that elected you to implement policies and to serve. It should be all about public administration. It shouldn’t be about wealth. So, I have absolutely no difficulty with this bill. I hope that is retroactive. I hope that we can look, since the PUP always looks backwards, I hope that we can go beyond thirteen years and so that it can be a bipartisan bill and not a political bill that seeks to go after politicians in the opposition but all politicians that cannot explain their source of wealth and assets that they have amassed since becoming elected members of the house.”

These are the steps that this PUP Administration under the leadership of Hon. John Briceño is leading. Being accountable and transparent creates the atmosphere for good governance.