John Briceño Wants Government to “Can” the Belmopan Rep

John Briceño

But the Leader of the Opposition John Briceño says that John Saldivar should be canned! Briceño says that with the documents presented and based on the P.M.’s statement months ago, Saldivar should be fired. On Tuesday, Government announced that the Belmopan Minister is on a leave of absence pending legal opinion. According to Briceño, Saldivar should either be in or out- and from evidence that has surfaced he should be out – not on a leave of absence.

John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader

“I think that John Saldivar is in quite a pickle.  Why do I say that? Well, because the Prime Minister had said that if evidence were to ever surface, THAT John Saldivar is in business with Mr. Mason that he would fire John Saldivar from the Cabinet. Now, a document has surfaced showing company documents that Mr Saldivar was in business with Mr. Mason; that Mr. Mason owns thirty percent of the Bandits Team. Mister Saldivar now quickly took out a release and probably he wasn’t properly advised, because in that release now he is saying that yes, I mi have this thing with this man and yes he gave me fifty thousand. We don’t know if it is fifty thousand Belize or fifty thousand US. But then he said I set up another company, so I moved the football team from this company to the next company. Now if that was the case, any businessman that is worth his salt will tell you that is illegal; that is fraud. It is one of two things, either Mr. Saldivar was in business with Mr. Mason or he committed fraud. I don’t know he needs to answer that.  And we need to hold the Prime Minister to his word; that if evidence were to come out that John Saldivar was a business partner with Mr. Mason, that he would be fired. Now, I don’t want to hear about no suspension for one week. First of all, I don’t think there is any such thing as suspension for a Minister. You are either a Minister or you are fired and you are not a minister like what happened with Mr. Vega. So, what, will they cut his salary for one week? Will he have to park his vehicle and his driver and all of those things during this suspension? I don’t think so. We want nothing short of firing John Saldivar because the Prime Minister promised this country that if the evidence comes to the light that John Saldivar was in business with Mr. Mason, that he would fire him. So there is nothing less than firing John Saldivar from the Cabinet.”