Labour Minister on Oscar Selgado’s Resignation as Chair of LAC

Last week, we told you about embattled attorney Oscar Selgado resigning as chair of the Labour Advisory Committee, just four months after taking up the post.  Selgado has been on trial in the High Court for a charge of abetment to commit murder, where he is accused of contracting a Belize City man to kill a woman who reportedly filed a complaint of sexual assault against him before the General Legal Council.  His resignation letter was submitted and accepted by the Ministry of Labour exactly one week ago.  Labour Minister Oscar Requeña explains how Selgado was selected for the post even though this charge has been hanging over his head.

Oscar Requena

Oscar Requena, Minister of Labour

“I think it is very simple to explain this. Our constitution guarantees us the right that we are innocent until proven guilty and we have to be fair. We cannot pass judgment prematurely so I believe that that is the situation.”

Paul Lopez

“So you knew about the charges, but you were waiting for the trial to come up?”

Oscar Requena

“Well we have to be fair. We have to give people a fair opportunity. I don’t think it is fair to judge something without even giving them the benefit for them to be able to have a fair trial.”

Paul Lopez

“So what do you make of his resignation?

Oscar Requena

“Well I’ll tell you what. First of all I want to say that we at the Ministry of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Labour and Local Government are very grateful for the work that Mister Selgado and his committee did. Mister Selgado brought tremendous leadership to the committee and I must say that the work was well underway. We are grateful to him and we wish him well in his future endeavours.”