Barrow names Oversight Committee for Venezuelan millions
And as for those ten million U.S dollars from Venezuela that the Central Bank retrieved from the Belize Bank on August eleventh following months of litigation in court, the Prime Minister announced he has appointed a Steering Committee that will have oversight on the millions.
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
“What’s to happen with the money? Well, even though we are obliged to contemplate that at the end of the day we’re not sure how the courts will ultimately rule and we expect that the Belize Bank is prepared to take us all the way to the Privy Council; lay persons say possession is nine-tenths of the law. In this case, possession is ten-tenths of the law. We are going to use this money for the people of Belize and let tomorrow, in so far as the continuing efforts of the Belize Bank are concerned, let tomorrow take care of itself. The government will not simply transfer the money to the Ministry of Housing for the administration to do with it as it pleases. We are appointing a seven person committee, comprising four ministers of government and three persons from the private sector, to recommend to government exactly how this money is to be spent. In other words, Mr. Speaker, while we know it’s to be spent on housing, the question of apportionment for example, how much on home improvement? How much on new construction? What are the criteria that will engage the Ministry of Housing in making the disbursements? Will the home improvement portion of the twenty million dollars be a grant, as in my view it should be? And in terms of the home construction, will that be by way of some kind of revolving fun or will that also be a grant? What are the criteria in terms of eligibility? When their recommendations have come in to government and we are proceeding, perhaps a smaller committee, but certainly retaining the membership of the private sector—of the social partners—will then take on a monitoring and oversight function so that if, for example, the larger committee says this is how we’re gonna use the money: we want disbursed in tranches of two million dollars at a time, the Ministry of Housing will have to account to that smaller committee the way it has utilised the first tranche before it can get tranche two and so on as we go along in order to make absolutely sure, Mr. Speaker, that this money is properly spent, that there is value for the money, and that the poor people of this country will benefit by twenty million dollars.”
Chairing the steering committee is Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega, while Minister of Housing Anthony “Boots” Martinez, Minister of Human Development Eden Martinez, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Attorney General Wilfred Elrington, and U.W.I. Director Jane Bennett will act as members. The Chamber of Commerce and N.T.U.C.B. will also nominate a person each to sit on the committee.
