Government’s legal fees; millions of taxpayers’ dollars spent
On Wednesday the Prime Minister did not give a specific figure on the money spent on the restructuring of the Belize Bond 2038 but he did admit it is “astronomical.” Because the super bond as it was called, has been on the books for some time, we checked the 2013/2014 estimates to see if there is any indication. What we have found is the following. Under CAP two in the Ministry of Finance, page five hundred and forty seven of the budget estimates, the government spent or overspent a whopping ten million dollars, for legal and professional advisory services. Nothing had been budgeted, but ten million was spent. Now, we are not sure if that sum was spent for the super bond, because government has also been outsourcing legal work to choice private attorneys. Still on the budget, there is another figure stands out. In 2011-2012, the government also exceeded the approved budget for the purchase of vehicles. The approved expenditure was one point two million dollars, but instead one point seven eight million dollars were spent on the fancy SUV that you see on the highways. One more issue we reported on Wednesday night that government was spending two hundred and ninety-eight million dollars on wages and salaries for eight thousand plus public officers, this does not include salary subsidy for high school and sixth form denominated schools. Government’s support for salaries for these schools was roughly ninety million for the year ending. Therefore the wage bill would be close to four hundred million dollars.
When that new amendment changes as to who can be paid lawyers, those millions can go to experienced gang members and famous family members given their deserved law license.
Instead of low level nepotism, we got higher paid professionals running the country into the sea.
My fellow Belizeans, now you see for yourselves that Ricky Malthus didn’t lie to you when he said that the entire renegotiating of the Super Bond was an useless exercise designed to enrich unfairly and to pay off the untidy brother Mark Espat for his connivance and political machinations in turning the tide in the last general elections. And we stupid Belizean dumb cruds are paying for this gross corruption with our taxes. Ricky Malthus did point out that only Espat, Barrow and other esoteric cronies would be benefitting from the points being paid in the refinance procedures. How dare this Barrow to insult us with his Basis Point comparison for loans while he and Espat deal in Integers to their benefit. Belizeans want to see published the final settlement pay-out of this refinanced Super Bond.
Good work by Channel 5 to point out some places where GOB is ignoring its own budget. That irresponsibility is a big part of what keeps working Belizeans buried under a mountain of debt that holds them down like slaves. And it will hold down our children and grandchildren, too.
Thieving politicians and public employees need to be locked up.
@ Storm and Ricky Malthus, that’s what Politicians do. In the Jewel, PUP do it, UDP do it. Now, what are YOU, going to do about it.
PUP, tief out the money and share it mongst themselves as the former Leader plead with them to return some and, UDP allow their buddies to hustle off the restructuring of the money weh di adda side tief out. Same difference. Going from blue to red is like, “changing white monkey fi white dog.”