Turbulence within the Belmopan City Council
According to Minister Requeña, who is in receipt of a letter written by Mayor Palacio on April sixth, notwithstanding the appointment of a financial controller, the head of the city will retain her responsibilities at City Hall.
Isani Cayetano
“I understand that you are in receipt of a letter that was written to you by Mayor Palacio, a rather strongly worded letter. Can you comment to the way forward in respect of what she has brought to your attention as the minister?”
On the Phone: Oscar Requeña, Minister of Local Government
“Well I think it is important that I clarify certain issues. One of the main issues that she raises in the letter is that she was never afforded an opportunity to respond to the concerns raised by the councilors and I want to say categorically that that is not so because as I had outlined earlier, we had a meeting on February 16th, 2022 at which Mayor Palacio participated along with all her councilors. The issues were raised at the meeting, we discussed them, she gave a commitment, an undertaking that she will work with her councilors to rectify those issues and that’s where we left that. Unfortunately, for her to say now that she was not given a fair chance is not so. The way forward, really, is that we have given the process an opportunity and it seems that they are unable to really put aside their differences and come together to work in the best interest of the residents of Belmopan. Here we have a situation where councilors have raised several issues, the mayor has also raised concerns. We have brought them to the table. We thought that by bringing them together and by them undertaking that they would work together to resolve their issues, that that would have been done. Unfortunately, that has not happened and we have a duty, we are bound by our responsibility as the Ministry of Local Government who has direct oversight and responsibility for municipalities to intervene and that is what we are doing. We are now at the point where we are going to move ahead with the installation of a financial controller to oversee the overall financial affairs and management of the day-to-day running of the council. That is not to say that the mayor will not be the mayor. The mayor will continue to be the mayor, she will have responsibility as the mayor, but when it comes to the concerns that have been raised by the councilors, in terms of the hires and the management and financial control of the council, we will assign that responsibility to the financial controller.”
