Edmond Castro talks about Arthur Saldivar’s predicament

Edmund Castro

The People’s United Party has suspended, attorney Arthur Saldivar as standard bearer for the Belize Rural North Constituency. That happened on Wednesday at a meeting called by the executive to discuss Saldivar’s fate.  There were some who wanted the party to go further than a suspension and to have him removed as standard bearer. But it was agreed that that decision would be taken after an investigation is completed in two weeks. Saldivar is accused of taking nine hundred and four thousand dollars from his client, Melonie Coye. The money was returned to her by the Financial Intelligence Unit when the court ordered it be unfrozen when she was cleared of money laundering. The usually verbose attorney is this time not saying much except to say Coye owed him more than that. But earlier today we caught up Belize Rural North Area Rep, Edmond Castro, who himself has faced scandalous allegations including the sale of visas, abuse of authority in the issuing of cheques at the Belize Airports Authority and a list of other misdeeds. Castro says Saldivar is a non-factor in the division.

Edmund Castro, Area Representative, Belize Rural North

“I don’t pay much attention to what the PUP does with Mr. Saldivar, he is a non-entity out here in the Belize Rural North area.  If you notice what we are doing, we are out here producing and delivering for the people of the Belize Rural North area.  Right now we are getting ready to renovate the entire water system for the people of Maskall, Nago Bank and Bomba.  That will start within the next month or so.  Within the next two weeks we will be signing the agreement for the construction or refurbishment of the Old Northern Highway.  The first phase is five miles, from Sand Hill into the area, I think, of New Hope Bridge. By the time we’ve completed that segment of the highway hopefully the Koreans would kick in so we could complete the other fifteen miles.  So we are continuing along the line of progress in Belize Rural North.  We don’t get sidelined and distracted by what Arthur Saldivar and the P.U.P.s are doing because they can’t win anyway and if he comes or they send somebody else, they can come together, in two’s or three’s, I will still beat them.”

Reporter

“However, it has to be some sort of relief for you.  It has been some nine months your name has been dragged through the mud. You’ve been accused of taking bribes, you’ve been accused of selling visas, of issuing cheques from Belize Airports Authority for your cronies….so now the pressure deh off you.”

Edmund Castro

“No my friend. I have been working for the people of Belize Rural North and I noh thief nobody. I never walk away with a bag of money, a briefcase of money from nobody. Nobody can accuse me of stealing any money from them. Everything we work for is the people of Belize Rural North and the evidence is here to show. You see how many people deh out yah…just for the opening of this library? This had never been done before and many years of the P.U.P.’s—forty, fifty years of the P.U.P.—and they still never build wah library for Maskall. Forty, fifty years of the P.U.P., they still neva renovate or give out water. We di give water. Under the U.D.P. dehn get water, but the system get outdated so we getting a new system for Maskall including Bomba. We are getign ready to inaugurate the water system for nine villages in Belize River Valley area. Under the P.U.P., not one.”

Reporter

“But sir, as Saldivar’s political opponent, you must feel some sort of joy that this is happening to him.

Edmund Castro

“I will not gloat about Mister Saldivar. Almost every other morning he is on a talk show. But recently, he had coined the name serial caller, now we haven’t heard anything from him. I would not gloat about that. I am sorry for him.”