Musa says commission of inquiry is “bogus”

And just in case anyone has forgotten that strategy, a remarkably fortuitous coincidence of timing has a government appointed commission of inquiry looking into Musa’s handling of the Economic Citizenship Programme between 1989 and 1993. That commission, chaired by Harry Lui, will hear testimony from the P.U.P. leader tomorrow. And while he has agreed to respect the commission’s summons, Said Musa today issued a televised statement calling the inquiry “bogus, with a clear political agenda,” and claimed that the commission was acting both illegally and unconstitutionally. The effort to assault his character, said Musa, will ultimately fail.

Said Musa, Leader, P.U.P.

“It will fail because it is based on lies and deception. I did not and have never received any monies from the sale of passports. As any civil servant can attest to, ministers of government do not and should not play any role in the collection of revenue. All monies under the Economic Citizenship Programme during the period 1989-93 were collected by the Department of Immigration. There are no monies missing. The Auditor General has allowed his good office to fall into disrepute by allowing himself to be used and manipulated by the U.D.P. and by virtue of his own clear bias against me and the party which I lead. Even the former financial secretary and now Governor of the Central Bank of Belize, who appeared before the commission of inquiry on June eighteenth, described the Auditor General’s reports as “misleading and inaccurate” exposing the whole thing as a farce and a charade.”

According to Musa the various moves against him are designed solely to distract the public from the real issues facing the country such as a failing economy, high crime rate, inadequate health care and obsolete education.