Millions of Dollars in Legal Fees Paid to Barrow’s Family and Friends

Kareem Musa

Representative for Caribbean Shores Kareem Musa had one of the longest and one of the most passionate presentations of day-two of the budget debate. In his first budget presentation, Musa turned his attention on the legal fees contained in this document, and budgets past, claiming that tens of millions have gone to three select lawyers very close to the Prime Minister. According to Musa, almost forty million dollars will have been paid to those lawyers by the end of the 2016/2017 fiscal year.

Kareem Musa, Area Representative, Caribbean Shores

“Do you want to know how much money the Prime Minister as the Minister of Finance gave to his family members and friends in legal fees? If you turn to page forty-six of the budget, Mister Speaker, at forty-one-ten, you will see that over the last three years, the Prime Minister as the Minister of Finance has paid out a whopping fourteen million—this dah noh monopoly money by the way; this dah real money—fourteen million eight hundred and ninety-five thousand four hundred and thirty-two dollars to his friends and family in legal fees. But that dah only one line item yo know…fourteen millions plus. It does not end there. If you go down on the same page forty-six to line item one-eight-zero-eight. Now somehow this found its way mysteriously into a capital two project, legal fees yo know; capital two project. The Prime Minister as Minister of Finance paid out to his family and friends an additional twelve million seven hundred and nineteen nine hundred and twenty-six dollars, bringing the grand total of this parallel underground operation to twenty-seven million six hundred and fifteen thousand three hundred and fifty-eight dollars. You heard right; that is the magic number members that this Prime Minister has time and time again refused to disclose to the Belizean people.”