Minister of State for Culture Comments on Immigration Audit Reports

Elodio Aragon Jr.

We have been reporting on the Auditor General’s trio of reports on the Immigration and Nationality Service between April of 2011 and September of 2013. They contain hard-to-swallow truths about a culture of corruption and fraud within the service, facilitated for the most part by ministers of Government and their associates. Minister of State for Culture, Youth and Sports, Elodio Aragon Junior, was not in Government then; he was a senior police officer – Assistant Commissioner of Police. While he was not named in the audit, would he not suffer along with his party for these past failures? He told us today that the Government has been and is trying its best to control the Immigration Department.

Elodio Aragon Jr., Minister of State, Youth, Culture & Sports

“These issues, you will always find them. I think that it is how we deal with these issues, and I think the Prime Minister has done what he had to do in terms of dealing with the Immigration issues; I think what the Attorney General is doing right now, in terms of dealing with the Vital Statistics Office, these are the things a Government has to deal with; corruption is about the eye, it’s not only about the act but it’s also about the people who commit these things, and a lot of these people, sadly, are within our public service system. And what the Government has to do is to crack down on these things and to ensure we reduce these things. And I think the United Democratic Party has shown its will in terms of dealing with the issues; whether it was the Minister responsible for Immigration and otherwise, these things have shown that under the leadership of the Right Honourable Dean Barrow he has taken such actions, and therefore we continue to ensure that we do our best to govern this country.”