UDP calls for Max’s resignation

The United Democratic Party today followed the lead of several independent media houses in calling for the resignation of Minister of Home Affair Maxwell Samuels. In a release today the opposition party stated that whether Samuels was involved in the illegal sale of Belizean nationality or simply incompetent in allowing it to happen, he deserved to lose his job. At the same time the UDP also called for an independent commission of inquiry into the scandal, saying that the police would not have the credibility to investigate conduct involving their own ministry. The UDP release made new accusations of corruption involving the one-day clearing of non-resident nationality applicants by the police special branch as well as the mass falsification of a doctor’s signature for medical clearance on the same applications. At this point it is clear that the illegal sales were not a simple rogue operation conducted by a small number of conspirators, but in fact extended to dozens of government employees in several departments along with similarly corrupt civilians. Conducting the police investigation into the scandal are Sr. Superintendent Bernard Lino and ASP Justo Augustine. It is not known what Prime Minister Said Musa plans to do about the scandal on a political level.