Mutiny at Belmopan City Hall; a Financial Controller will be Appointed

Sharon Palacio

An apparent mutiny is taking place at the Belmopan City Council, where a majority of the councilors have expressed serious concerns with the management style of Mayor Sharon Palacio.  The discord within the administration has been brought to the attention of the Ministry of Local Government.  After several failed attempts at bringing both parties together to resolve the issue, the ministry is proceeding with the installation of a financial controller.  News Five spoke with Minister of Local Government Oscar Requeña who told us a meeting has been scheduled for this evening to further address the concerns raised by the embattled mayor and her councilors.

On the Phone: Oscar Requeña, Minister of Local Government

“On April 7^th, 2022, a special meeting was called by myself, resulting from claims by councilors that the council was still not operating and not being administered in accordance with the act and in compliance with the agreements made at the February 16^th, 2022 meeting.  I presented a draft terms of reference for a financial controller.  I must clarify that at that meeting, the mayor did not participate, the mayor and one councilor.  We had five other councilors that had participated, okay.  On April sixth, the mayor wrote to the minister to indicate the decision not to attend the April seventh meeting and then today, I am convening a special meeting to finalize the terms of reference for the financial controller.  As the minister responsible for local government, I am empowered by Section Twenty-three A of the Belmopan City Council to appoint, after consultation with the Belmopan City Council, a financial controller to oversee the financial affairs of the council and may direct that all the disbursements from the Belmopan City Council fund above a pre-approved limit be certified by the financial controller for it to be valid.  It is important that the residents of Belmopan and, you know, the listening public understands that as the minister responsible for local government we have been working very closely with the Belmopan City Council, including the mayor and the councilors, along with our local government director, our C.E.O.  We have been working diligently to try to see if we can bring the parties together to resolve their issues.  Unfortunately, it seems that the challenges continue at the city council and I must say that in the interest of serving the residents of Belmopan and in the interest of ensuring that the council adheres to the mandate that they were given at that election, it is important for the Ministry of Local Government to intervene.”