Taxpayers will pay all attorney fees for Telemedia case
Arthur Saldivar
The big story so far is now the renationalization of Telemedia. We have been getting the views from both sides and earlier you heard from Prime Minister Dean Barrow as well the former Minister, Hubert Elrington. Elrington was joined on the couch of Open your Eyes this morning by Attorney Arthur Saldivar, who zeroed in on the burden to taxpayers from the litigation. Saldivar raised the point that this is one of several cases in which government has hired private attorneys, while its legal staff is also collecting salaries. And at the end of the day, it’s the taxpayers who will be picking up the tab for GOB’s myriad of legal entanglements and in the 2009 acquisition they will also pay for attorneys of the other side.
Arthur Saldivar, Attorney
“You must remember and keep in mind that government has an attorney general, government has a solicitor general and government has a team of lawyers staffed with responsibility to fight actions on behalf of the government. They are paid by tax payers and continue to be so paid. But in this manifestation Mr. Barrow and his Cabinet saw it fit to go outside of the bounds of government and hire a private attorney to carry fort and unconstitutional act, which they knew—which he knew—was unconstitutional from the start. The net result was and is that public treasury was opened up when it ought not to have been; opened up to pay private fees to this private attorney while we had persons well capable and trained to do the same job for what they have already been paid for. But not only that, not only did he open up the public treasury to his ex-wife, he opened up the public treasury to Mr. Ashcroft and his team of lawyers. Costs follow the event. You’re doing a wrongful act, all of these fees, all of these judgments accumulating; it goes back to responsibility of the people to pay.”
It would be much better if he would use the millions that he has given to Lois and Anwar and Deanna and the five millions he has pocket and raid the bank accounts of Doctor No-Go and Nestor.
My fellow Belizeans like our past prime minister said” that wah blow over like wah lee breeze” we will endure more crime, more injustice and more hovoc. Like it or Love it is the only choice Belizeans have.
This whole situation has given me a sour taste in my mouth and now my hard earned tax dollars will pay for this fight that seems more of a personal fight and we the tax payers always end up on the loosing end. This does not inspire me to vote on the next town council or general elections. So far i see not one single person who wants the best for the people. How sad….
Mr Barrow has no interest in the developement of this Jewel.It’s all about him and his family members.The only people that are enjoying democracy in the Jewel are his cronies.
Hey Oscar, Then you should get off your backside and do some social net working with your TWITTER and FACE book and encourage the people to take to the streets from boarder to boarder in civil protest. Seem like the whole country are nothing but a bunch of cowards, weak spine who expect to get something for nothing, the very thing that Borrow and his gangs are doing, Wait until someone build something then bully it away from them under the disguise that he is doing it for you all. I have experienced three riots here in the United States.Yes, Dr.Martin Luther King. Jr made an impact for peace, but when the establishment saw that folks were not affraid to give their lives to be free, it brought about some radical changes quick.