Wilfred Elrington Says Corruption is More Worrying than Crime

Wilfred Elrington

Minister of Home and Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington was the featured speaker at the University of Belize’s lecture on Monday on security and threats to Belize on the eve of Independence. As usual, Elrington brought a unique perspective to his audience. In opening his remarks, the man in charge of the Police Department says he does not worry so much about the gangsters on the street as those in Government offices practicing and engaging in corrupt activities. While he stopped short of naming the government, in one of the strongest indictments, Elrington said there is no reason why those paid to be in charge of the public purse should be fleecing it.

Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Home and Foreign Affairs

“There is the perception that in fact the country is swimming in crime and criminality, and it’s certainly going to have a negative impact on our tourism industry. The crime and the criminality that bother me more, is corruption: corruption that we find in Government offices – Customs, Immigration, Lands Department – much more than the few who are on the street, engaged in gangs and selling drugs and the like. Because corruption decimates a society; when the resources of the nation that is absolutely necessary for the development of the nation is being siphoned off by people who are being handsomely paid by the nation; that, truly to me, is a crime.”