Contractor Paid Within Hours of P.U.P. Election Victory

Bernard Wagner

Perhaps equally as astounding was the processing of payment to one Belize City contractor in the immediate aftermath of the March seventh municipal elections.  An invoice in the sum of almost sixty thousand dollars was prepared for Gilbert ‘Gilly’ Franklin on the day after the voting blowout, purportedly for material he had provided for the resurfacing of Sanker Street in Port Loyola.  While the incoming mayor quickly froze the payment, he ordered an assessment of the work on the street and subsequently found out that an additional fifteen thousand dollars had been tacked on to that bill.

Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor

“When we assumed office on March eighth, after winning the election on March seventh, we noted this particular accounts payable which was done on March eighth, one day after we winning the election.  For some reason or the other this payment seemed to have been accelerated.  Thirty-nine loads of hardcore material, twenty-three thousand, four hundred.  Thirty-two loads of all-in, twenty-four thousand.  Ten culverts, seven culverts, for a grand total of fifty-nine thousand, six hundred [dollars].  I want you to note keenly the date, eighth of March.  Why was there such a rush to process this payment?  So when I assumed office I immediately halted this payment here because I wasn’t sure.  It says Sanker Street, payment to one Gilbert Franklin to be utilized on Sanker Street rehabilitation.  No waybill, no attachment on this invoice.  We were unable to verify if these materials actually reached that street, so I asked our works manager to go to that street, measure the street and give me an estimation, in his view, of what’s the value of material that went on that street.  And I have here his report, and you note his report is dated fifth of April.  This is when he brought it back to me, and he is saying here, “Mr. Mayor, I did my estimation and the number of, the value for the material there is around forty-four thousand [dollars].  So approximately fifteen thousand [dollars] unaccounted for.  Why was this payment accelerated on the eighth day of March?  I’ll leave that up to you good guys to do the research.”