Is ousted judge still on Govt. payroll?
He might have been removed from his official post as a justice of the Supreme Court months ago, but today George Meerabux is still making headlines. This morning, News 5 received a tip from a reliable source indicating that not only is Meerabux still driving around in a Government vehicle, he’s also continuing to collect his government paycheque. We thought the tip warranted verification so we started right at the top of the judicial ladder, with Attorney General Godfrey Smith. According to the A.G., Meerabux was lawfully removed as a justice of the Supreme Court in late September and is therefore not supposed to be receiving any sort of benefits, much less a cheque. As for the vehicle, Smith confirmed GOB has agreed to sell Meerabux his government issued Isuzu Rodeo, but he was not aware of the details. When we asked the A.G. about the allegation that Meerabux is still getting paid, Smith replied that he would be, “very surprised if that were true”. After that less than conclusive response, we decided to follow the money, starting with the Financial Secretary Joseph Waight. Waight told us he was ninety percent sure that Meerabux wasn’t on the payroll, but suggested we call the office of the Registrar General, since they deal with paycheques for the judiciary. As for Meerabux’s mode of transportation, Waight confirmed that technically the truck is still the property of the Government of Belize. Since the valuation has taken longer than was previously estimated, Waight said that the ministry was hoping to transfer the title as soon as possible. He also assured us that Meerabux has only limited use of the vehicle, whatever that means. The issue of the vehicle verified, we still wanted to know about the dough. The Deputy Registrar General, Mr. Pennill, told our reporter that his office sent a letter to the Treasury Department asking them to stop payments to Meerabux, indicating that as far as they were concerned, the case was closed. Now this is where the story gets really interesting. After being transferred to various employees at Treasury, the buck finally stopped at Accountant General, Carmen Barrow. Barrow says she is not aware of any such letter from the office of the Registrar General and further stated that she is not in a position to confirm or deny whether or not Meerabux is still making big bucks, believed to be in the range of sixty thousand dollars a year plus perks. So what’s the verdict in today’s proceedings? Your guess is as good as ours, but the latest run around does nothing to dispel rumours that the disgraced former justice still enjoys the protection of some very powerful people in very high places.
