Narda is fired from Social Security

It took a few days for everyone to learn the script but in the end the actors finally got it right. This afternoon, following a sometimes acrimonious meeting of the Social Security Board, C.E.O. and General Manager Narda Garcia was fired from her job. According to a terse press release from the S.S.B., Assistant G.M. Dalila Castillo will act as C.E.O. and Manager until a replacement for Garcia can be hired. The meeting was led by Deputy Chairman Mel Auil Junior, following the resignation earlier in the week of former Board Chairman Yasin Shoman. Who will take over the leadership of the Board is unclear at this time. In his address on Tuesday Prime Minister Said Musa said, and I quote, “The new Chairperson of the Board will be a private sector representative.” One interpretation of that statement is that the chair will be selected from one of the two officially designated private sector representatives already on the Board. That is either Auil, nominated by the Belize Business Bureau, or Mark Lizarraga, the nominee of the Chamber of Commerce. Other interpretations, however, suggest that what the P.M. meant was that as long as the chairperson worked in the private sector, he or she would qualify, meaning that one of the existing or future government appointees could theoretically be moved into the top spot. The Board, by statute, is composed of five G.O.B. reps., two private sector nominees and two union representatives. As for the terms of Garcia’s severance package, sources indicate to News Five that no final settlement has been agreed to. Garcia had four years left to run on a five year contract negotiated in the midst of the Senate investigation that found the Board negligent and reckless in its handling of loan guarantees.