Frustration Over Rank Corruption at Vital Statistics Unit

Godwin Hulse

The birth certificate in question, obviously fraudulent, was actually issued by the Vital Stats Department which comes under the Attorney-General’s Ministry. That occurrence, we can tell you with certainty, is nothing out of the ordinary. For many years that department has been rife with corruption, seemingly unchecked. Hulse told News Five he is as frustrated as everybody else.

Godwin Hulse, Minister of Immigration

“It’s something that has troubled me for a long time. This whole issue of a birth certificate that has no physical trace to the person. There’s no fingerprint on it because it’s a person. There is no picture, there is nothing. And so it’s happening all over the world. I figure that Vital Statistics has to come up with a way. And that is why, and I want to repeat, this gentlemen, that is why when we did the Immigration thing we said move away from the JP because we know that story, and please bring in some people that we think would have some integrity. This is an issue that the whole nation has to coalesce around. That is why we said a category A and a category B. Category A being private sector people which did include the Justice of the Peace cause we can’t take him out – Category B more senior people or public sector people who would have something to lose. So that when they say look, I know that this is Mr. Ortiz that they know that. And I’m hoping and still praying that the integrity resides there in that second section – there is either a C.E.O., Member of the House of Representatives, head of Department these are senior people with senior jobs and we would hope that when they say that they mean that. People have come to me from time to time and I have said man, I don’t know you. And the thing says know you. It doesn’t say because you happen to be a Minister sign here. It says know the person. You have to do that with some confidence and some dignity and some integrity. We’re trying to improve that system but that was the best we had come up with at the time and we thought it was a hell of a lot better than just the Justice of the Peace. So if this man did get a passport or something there had to be a B signature. And that B signature would have to say man I knew the guy. And that’s the difficulty we have.”