PM Barrow Says Mason Debacle Doesn’t Look Good for U.D.P.
William Mason
The Barrow administration is faced with an embarrassing situation, following the murder of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas. In the aftermath of the ghastly homicide last Friday, it has come to light that the prime suspect, Guyanese/Canadian businessman William Mason, was well connected with sitting cabinet ministers. Mason is known to have hobnobbed with a number of senior U.D.P. politicians, including ministers John Saldivar, Patrick Faber and Frank ‘Papa’ Mena. In July 2015, Mason also contributed ten thousand dollars to ‘Papa’ Mena’s campaign leading up to the Dangriga bye-elections. The extent of Mason’s high profile involvement with the United Democratic Party, however, is now being reduced to membership in their social circle and everyone is now distancing themselves from Mason. But even while the Prime Minister says he is convinced there is no hanky panky, the party is suffering yet another black eye.
Dean Barrow
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
“Of course I am concerned because naturally there are certain conclusions, wrong conclusions I think, being drawn in consequence. Look, it’s what I said on the radio just now, this man was a conman. He represented himself as a fellow good and true. If ministers did not know any different and were taken in by his pretense at Good Samaritanship that is unfortunate but as long as the acquaintanceship ministers had with him did not result in any kind of impropriety engaged in or sanctioned by ministers we will just have to take the licks that the fact that optically it is not an ideal situation brings.”
Reporter
“However, there is no campaign finance regulations and we know that campaign financing can include anything, any cash donation to a politician can be viewed as campaign financing. Have you questioned your ministers on whether they accepted money in the name of campaign financing from this gentleman?”
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
“I have. Papa Mena has said that at the time of his bye-election there was a contribution made to that campaign from the fellow. And how long ago was the bye-election, last March or so? Yes. He is the only person who says that there was any sort of donation made with respect to political campaigns.”
Frank ‘Papa’ Mena
Isani Cayetano
“Was that figure disclosed?”
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
“Yes, he did say. I would prefer, he’s not hiding it but I’d prefer you ask him. It wasn’t anything outrageous. In fact, I don’t know, I will tell you. He said that a ten thousand dollar contribution was made to his campaign.”
Late this evening, ‘Papa’ Mena issued a release. He says that he received a campaign contribution from a businessman he knew as Danny Mason and that he met him through Doctor Henry Canton and that he was taken to Mason’s house by Minister Saldivar. Mason contributed ten thousand dollars to his campaign – a contribution which ‘Papa’ Mena says he is willing to place the money in an escrow account to be used for charity.
But it does not look too bad either.
Belizeans are stupid. How many even care about the last fifty scandals?
Yes a murder of a preacher in this UDP scandal looks bad. We have had other murder scandals, we will manage this as long as Belizeans stay stupid acting like sheep.
As PM I can handle stench, I am stench. To be PM, it is required.
To maintain integrity, Mason will not be offered a cabinet position with his friends.
Frank papa Mena is being plain and simply ridiculous. Returning a donation after he has used it and got elected is ludicrous. He needs to be forthrightly removed from office.
You are putting it mildly. This is the culmination of the country being run like the UDP’s personal whore-house. Civil Society has stood by for years as the politicos have broken down the system. Belizean Nationality and Passport are now synonymous with corruption. If the Civil Service was not hand-cuffed by blatant and rampant political interference, the system would work and these things would not happen. Equally as gulity are the Church, the Unions, the Business Community, NGOs and all political sycophants who have all looked the other way or been beneficiaries of this corrupt system.
Belizean Leadership post-independence has been an abysmal failure! We have been let down by politicos, church leaders, union leaders et. al. Perhaps, now that one of their own has fallen, the Church and others will understand the inmportance of calling out corruption.
For those of you reading this, if you have ever accepted money to cast your vote…red or blue…why are you now thinking that ministers accepting money is wrong? Don’t you do the same thing every election? I live in San Pedro and every election day I see hundreds of red and blue paid voters travel to the Island, quickly vote and then go out and have fun enjoying the island, all paid with our Tax payer money. I never see those people again on the island, until next election season. Its just curious how residents notice this but no media house notices. And now we want to judge elected Ministers for taking bribes but they are as greedy as the average Belizean selling his or her vote for a lee couple hundred, except ministers accept only Thousands and even Millions. IF I ever decide to sell my vote to any party, it had better be way more than $200.00 or $500.00. My dignity has a higher value than that!!! Now I said (If) before, but I have no plans on selling my vote.
That money is full of iniquity, thus it’s not good for charity. Set it on fire; if a great quantity of Rosewood was set on fire, why not this.