People’s National Party says Gov’t needs to do more against corruption

Wil maheia

The People’s National Party base may be in the southern most district, however, their message and call for good governance is one that is expressed everyday on the streets.  The recent firing of the Minister of State Edmund Castro and the immigration scandal which includes human trafficking of Chinese, Sri Lankans, Somalis, and Nigerians are only some of the misdeeds which have gone with little more than a slap on the wrist to the accused.  PNP sent out a press release to the media today calling for the Minister of Immigration to also be removed from his post. Wil Maheia, PNP’s Leader told News Five why.

Wil Maheia, Leader of PNP

“We at the People’s National Party call on the Prime Minister to really carry out a thorough investigation and not use junior officers as scapegoat in the case of the officers that were arrest with the plane and the landing at the Bladen, and the junior officers that was arrested with the smuggling of the Chinese. We know for a fact that this has connections all the way at the top. We don’t want the junior officers to be sacrificed. We want a thorough investigation and we are calling on the Prime Minister to carry out that thorough investigation because we Belizeans are awake and alive and that this has implications at the highest level of government and investigation revealing that the highest officers in government are brought to justice.”

Jose Sanchez

“Wil, I also looked at documents where we see passports are being mailed into the country to be signed at the Immigration Department for Sri Lankans, for Nigerians, for Somalians using Kenyan Passports. And that’s very unusual, because you are supposed to have those things vetted at the embassies and consulates in different countries.”

carlos perdomo

Wil Maheia

“We also understand that passports have been mailed in for signatures. We would like an account of all the passports that have been mailed for signatures and whether that is legal or not. I don’t think that it is correct to have people mail in passports for signatures. It should be public knowledge just like when some applies for liquor licenses, it is public knowledge, their names are published in the newspapers and we would like to see that happen as well. We’d like to call on the Prime Minister to remove the Minister of Immigration. For too long since this government has been elected. There have been a lot of scandals coming out of that department. There seems to be rewards instead of punishment for that department. So we want to see the Minister of Immigration removed from that post.

edmund castro

And when it comes to the Minister of State, Edmund Castro, we applaud the Prime Minister for dealing with that situation. But that is just a slap on the risk, we need to go further. We know that three hundred and fifty thousand dollars grader was missing. Nobody was punished for that. Minister Castro obviously broke the law, so we want to see the penalty and we also want that ministerial vehicle be removed. As recently as yesterday morning the government plate vehicle was following Mister Castro on the Western Highway as he rode his bicycle as if nothing has happened. We have to be accountable to the Belizean people and PNP is calling on the Prime Minister to take swift and accurate action.”

It’s a tough year for the Minister of Immigration and Defense Carlos Perdomo. In addition to the current immigration scandal in which many visas were issued to Chinese nationals who disappeared once they reach Belize, Perdomo was also stripped of the police ministry when crime reached epic proportions.  The embattled Perdomo faces a new challenge on Sunday at a convention in which he is being contested by City Councilor Roger Espejo.