…and minister took over financial investigation
According to Flowers, Castro then led an investigation into the financial affairs of the Belize Port Authority without his input.
Via phone: Major John Flowers, Former Ports Commissioner
“They started investigating financial accounts, checking payments, way back from 2009/2010 looking to see if there are any irregularities; anything they could hold against me. That never worked out and so that week finished and the following Friday, we had a next management meeting with the management. They called them at the transport department at the Minister of Works conference room, they had a meeting there. Then he set a meeting to meet with all the staff. Then he went to the staff and during the discussions they had all sort of negative remarks.
John Flowers
I surely felt that given the scenario and the way the thing was done, it seriously undermined discipline, moral and everything. And so I was not prepared to continue under those circumstances. Now my contract has ran out on the thirty-first of January. We have been discussing this contract from since October/November. The thing was to renew the contract, but instead they went and rewrite the contract. In the new contract, they had in there where I had to go through a three months probationary period. And after three months probationary period, even after that I could be fired at any time without being given a valid reason. I felt all those issues needed to be looked at. And after consultation, I felt that maybe I should do one more year because there was so much going on in this particular year in respect to maritime issues. We have CMU coming in April, July we have the IMO coming in to do another workshop in Belize and we have an IMO audit in October. And those things we have been working towards them and it would have been unfair for me to leave the industry and leave the authority at a time when they need me most but given all these circumstances that actually prevail, I felt that I need to now look at the guy in the mirror. And since I was not given any other support; I had the chairperson who was on the minister side, the C.E.O. on the minister’s side. I tried to seek an audience with the prime minister some time ago to try to get some kind of intervention; that never did materialized. And so I said listen, enough is enough. I gotta walk away. And so with that I wrote back having first accepted that I would do one year. I did that on the twenty-first of January. The old contract expired on the thirty-first of January. I was supposed to sign the new one on the first of February. That never did happened. Chairman brought that to a board meeting at the twelfth of February wanting for me to sign at the board. That should have been signed at my office; there was no requirement to go back to the board. And so I said alright that is it; I will not continue my employment anymore with the Port Authority. I will leave and I will go home.”
News Five attempted to contact Minister Castro on the matter earlier today, but we were unsuccessful.
PM needs to rein in these mental midgets in his Cabinet! If the price we need to pay for representation is this type of idiocy, there has to be a rethinking! This type of behavior indicates vindictiveness and no person of such caliber can be counted on to be logical and productive as energies are wasted on this pettiness! Where is commonsense?
So ” grab-the-land Castro wants to ” grab-the- Port” also. I wonder how much money is in for him, his sweethearts, and to satiate his appetite for extreme profligacies. These profligacies are the common elements that drive these boys like Barrow, Faber, Finnegan, Boots, Castro, Hulse, et al . Belizeans are aware but are disarmed in all the ways to fight back. Shame !! Shame!!
this is normal the honest workers are being pushed around so they quit, cuase they won’t do the dirty work for the ministers and the high ranks…. wake up people
Mr. Flowers I applaud you for holding your head up high and not being coerce into doing anything that is against your good name. We need more Belizeans like yourself to stand up and shed some light on this government and their wrong doings.
Interesting that the gangs can get a face-to-face meeting with our beloved PM, but not the head of our important Ports Authority! That clearly defines PM’s values.
Having Castro look at financial irregularities is like having the fox guard the henhouse.
I hope we can find more honorable people like Mr. Flowers to help rebuild the government after it is overthrown by the people. That day must come, the sooner the better.
Malthus, I think the only way to fight back before it is too late is a military coup or an uprising like they had in Romania some years back, when Ceaucescu was run out of office.
Belezean love fool themsrlf – they know this bunch thief and incompetent but they still vote them back in. This send the wrong message like they have a mandate to tief more