Latest CitCo wrongdoings revealed in the Traffic Department
There is more stench coming from City Hall. This time it is the news the licensing of stolen vehicles that has hit the fan. According to the man who heads the Traffic Unit, Kevon Jenkins, the problem has been going on for years but there’s nothing he can do about it because one of the chief players in the scam is a staunch U.D.P supporter. The U.D.P. traffic officer was transferred but within weeks he was right back at the Traffic Department. One of the vehicles surfaced only last week at the Customs compound – a bullet proof SUV that had been stolen from Guatemala but was found to carry license plates issued by City Hall’s Traffic Department. While that in itself is a common practice, it is also known that car dealers import stolen vehicles and license them using information from similar vehicles belonging to unsuspecting owners. It’s said to be a lucrative business going on at City Hall for many years now and today, all except Councillors Dean Samuels and Andrew Faber attended a meeting to discuss just that. Councillor Wayne Usher, who holds the portfolio for Traffic told us today that Jenkins’ comments were the result of miscommunication between his office and the administration at City Hall because according to Usher, City Hall is addressing the problem.
Wayne Usher, Councillor Responsible for Traffic
“You see, we were doing an audit to determine the extent of these allegations and the audit asked the administrators for more time and apparently, that information wasn’t shared with Kevon on a timely basis and he thought no one was doing anything, but that wasn’t so. I am saying to you now that even as we speak, the audit report is still pending on this matter because we need that so that when we present, either to the Council, to the police or to the DPP we have to have our facts together.”
wayne usher
“This is exactly where we are right now. If you set out to defraud anyone, chances are if we don’t find out, then you will get away with it. But in this case we found out so we are tracking back now to find out how it happened. That is why the audit is being done. And just to put it in perspective, there’s also the matter that that same license plate could have been taken off another vehicle and put on there. People do it all the time out here, even people driving right now, if they want to commit a robbery, they will take a plate off someone else’s vehicle and put it on theirs, so that happens. But in this particular case we have no record that that was licensed by us. The fraud was perpetrated by somebody in the inside the Traffic Department I suspect but remember that was done from 2006 or before. When we got into office in 2006, we found that situation and a series of people were transferred out of that department you know. These matters that are coming up now are recent ones and we are now tracking back to see how many more of such there is.”
Marion Ali
“But this is 2010, four years have gone by. How could it have gone by and not be noticed for so long? You need to re-license every year right?”
Wayne Usher
“Once the pickings are so great that people will get vulnerable and accept these things, so you cannot say when that will happen or if it’s gonna happen. We have to try and put things in place to let it not happen and I’m saying one of the things that will be put in place is the transferring of people in and out of the department at given times, rotating them so that you’re not in the same place too very long. And then we are going to strengthen the internal auditing of the department. We are going to look at who is doing what, to conduct an exercise to see who has access to information and that information, restructure the whole place. And certain procedures that used to be done at the Traffic won’t be done again, for example, we will accept no more open transfers that you could sell your vehicle, come into the department, fill out your side of the transfer to the new owner and go about your business. That won’t happen anymore. The two people have to come in.”
The audit is expected to be out within a few weeks at which time the extent of this latest City Council scandal will be revealed. CitCo late this evening said that Kenyon Lord “should be dismissed” effective immediately and that a disciplinary hearing will be held with two other employees implicated in the scam.
Kudos to Mr. Kevon Jenkins, Manager, Traffic Department for coming out and stating the fraudulent activity that has been happening for a long time; whilst, political Bu!!$#!T prevented him from firing the person responsible.
I HOPE HE IS NOT FIRED FOR BEEN HONEST OF THE INCIDENT…
According to other sources, the audit report was completed last year October and to CitCo information, Kenyon Lord resign from last week Friday!!!
There is certainly one or two Councillors involved…
What happen to Zenaida Moya court case..WE BELIZEANS WILL NOT CONTINUE TOLERATE THIS ANY LONGER….
they should fire the mayor she is one of the biggest problem since she cannot control what is going under her watch get rid of her.
when these politicians lie, do they think anyone believes them ? The reason the stolen vehicles will continue to pour into Belize is because the real offenders are never mentioned. It is fairly common knowledge that one prominent southern family “Z” who shall again remain nameless, is allowed to perpetrate these vehicle transactions in Danriga town . Then city transfers are then given to other so called prominent “respectable” people.The little clerk in the office knows no one will be charged so he makes his little cut. corruption starts at the top.
Transfering people will not cut it. You guys need to invest in computers and computerize the system and have it linked up to the cap cars so that they run plates and identify some of those get away vehicles.The time has come whereby caps need to know who is on the road by running a L/plate.
I think every Belizean will agree with me that having Zenaida Moya as mayor is nothing but a travesty. EVERY MONTH there is a new scandal in City Council. Why is she there? No money in CitCo. They’re not doing anything. Hell, even her own councilors do not want her in office. She’s already taken her money… Why can’t she just leave!?
i believe what jay says about the ” Z ” family they are the well respectable people but you never know what’s behind every move they make and people might see it but just don’t give a damn about it and it will never stop the corruption being done.
I wonder how many councilors benefit from these scams? Why didn’t Samuel and Faber attended the emergency meeting called by the council? How credible will the audit conducted by the council be? What will the audit prove? I believe the whole council and the Traffic Department will be implicated if the audit is done by an independent body. Lot, stock and barrel need to go!. They are all corrupted.
ALL GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS NEED AN AUDIT AND A REVIEW OF PROCEDURES.
The same type of things are going on at the Belmopan Traffic Section, the Traffic Section has been audited on several occasions and there are no action taken against the people stealing and selling driving licenses. On occasions there have also been the addition of classes to peoples cards and the issueing of cards withouot examinations. Guees that is reason for all accidents in The country. Time to stamp out corruption.
Really i think Belize need a third party, when it come to all this s… mein all these so called politicians does is rip off htis whole country hence the reason we will never be developed. They pocket all the little that we get for revenue look at our streets mein so bad and the council always broke, they have a reason to be broke them, BLOOD SUCKERS make off with all the money for them lavish life, and left we the citizen to punish. Why did the WHiteman invended law of the land they corrupted the intier world with this s…. mein, i belive it we done with all the council thing just have a Mayor that will do all the work back up by the area repisentative the other councillors are only expense the way i see and not to mention BLOOD SUCKERS. Get rid of them we will have more money for the city to make Belize city as good NEW YORK CITIES, TIME SQUARE. come on my people stop vote for these INCOMPITENT people that only take our hard ear tax paying dollars, power in the strugle yo
NOW we know how some people have been affording their lifestyles..duh!
Very interesting post! Honestly..