Senate hearings on SSB begin in Belmopan

The first hearing in the Senate Select Committee investigation of possible financial and procedural irregularities involving Social Security funds was held today at the National Assembly building in Belmopan. Chairing the meeting was Senator Godwin Hulse who was flanked by Senators Dickie Bradley, Moises Chan and Rene Gomez. In all, seven witnesses were sworn in to testify before the panel, including Social Security Board employees Maria Elena Contreras and Rolando Zetina, Solicitor General Elson Kaseke, Governor of the Central Bank Sydney Campbell, Senior Lands Officer Antonio Cawich, DFC’s Chief Executive Officer Troy Gabb and Eberto May, who was SSB’s executive chairman from 1998 to 2003.

Zetina and Contreras appeared in their capacities as Secretaries of the SSB Investment Committee and board of directors respectively. Their evidence focused on how minutes of meetings were documented, approved, distributed and filed.

The Solicitor General, being the government’s legal advisor and chief parliamentary counsel, was then probed about his official recommendations for reprimands to any party found guilty of wrongdoing as a result of the Senate investigation.

Senator Dickie Bradley
“What in your opinion under our system could be done in relation to the unearthing of evidence that in fact a minister or the minister responsible for Social Security Board had in fact been instructing the Board or the investment committee to do certain things in relation to the use of making investments available or loans available to individuals or organisations? What do we do in our system where a minister is found to have stepped outside of giving policy directions and in general policy guidelines?”

Elson Kaseke, Solicitor General
“There are various constitutional mechanisms in place. Ministers are responsible to parliament. So parliament is a forum where ministers can be asked to answer for their wrongdoing. That is an established constitutional principle of the Westminster model. I listened to the bids of the House of Representatives and the Senate and I know that ministers are taken into account to answer for what they have done. That is one, I think very possible, course of action which is opened and which is utilised in the parliament of democracy like Belize.”