Former AG Says Lawsuits Against G.O.B. Cost Taxpayers

Prime Minister Dean Barrow was visibly angry when we asked him about another judgment against G.O.B. recently. That one concerns Titan Securities. Government has been ordered to pay almost nine million dollars in damages. Added to the Melonie Coye judgment, G.O.B. is looking at payment of more than twelve million dollars for two cases in which the Financial Intelligence Unit was involved, and apparently slipped up badly. Today, we spoke to former Attorney-General Wilfred Elrington, and while he would not go into details on either case, he did remind us that when G.O.B. loses in Court, it is taxpayers who foot the bill.

Wilfred Elrington

Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“I haven’t been briefed on the Melonie Coye matter and I saw the interview which the Prime Minister gave with respect to the Titan matter and the Prime Minister was exceedingly careful in not saying anything other than we will appeal it. I like him am of the view that it is a matter that requires an appeal. The Justice of the case in my view certainly demands that we exhaust the remedies allowed by the Court to really get at what the true situation is. So I am in agreement with him in respect to that. I do not know the details of the Melonie Coye case. What I do know though, and what Belizeans need to appreciate and understand, is that whenever a judgment is given against the Government, that judgment will have to be paid by our taxpayers’ money…money that you pay and I pay in taxes will have to be used to discharge these judgments. Preferably we would have all wanted for that money to go to help to pay for people who are in the hospitals or people who are in schools or other social benefits to the society and not having to pay it out in terms of damages in Court action for actions which are thought not to have been constitutional or where done outside of the law. Those things always pain me when the Government has to use taxpayers’ money to discharge these debts. Sometimes I get the impression that there are sectors of society that gloat and actually rejoice when a judgment is made against the Government. The truth is that that is nothing for rejoicing. That is a matter for being sad and contemplative because it is taxpayers’ money that can be used for other purposes that is now being used to satisfy a judgment for some wrong that may have been done by a Public Officer or Public Officers.”