Commission of Inquiry prepares for D.F.C. probe
As the tremors of the Senate report continue to reverberate through Belmopan, today the Commission of Inquiry into the operations of the Development Finance Corporation announced its plans for public hearings. According to a schedule provided by the Commission, starting on August first there will be two forums held every week–on Tuesdays and Thursdays–at the conference room of the Belize Institute of Management in Belize City. Those hearings will be carried live on radio and–for the first time– on the two major television stations. This morning, chairman David Price maintained that while a forensic auditor has yet to be selected, the three commissioners are looking forward to conducting a thorough investigation.
David Price, Chairman
?We have been in this investigation for well over one year and we feel that we owe it to the public to begin these public hearings. Based on the advertisement for the forensic auditor, we expect that that entity will be appointed shortly, so we are not running too far ahead of ourselves.?
Herbert Lord, Commissioner, D.F.C. Inquiry
?It will be similar to how the courts are operated in that you will be giving your evidence under oath, you will be required to answer the questions and you will be cross-examined. You can ask questions, you can reply. The only difference with the courtroom scene is that there the defence presents a defence at the end. Under the Commission of Inquiry, and I?ve conducted many, the commissioners ask questions, you give the answers but if there are certain clarifications that you need, you can ask it the same way. But it will be mostly similar to that of a judicial hearing.?
Stewart Krohn
?Two questions: one, what if a witness doesn?t feel like testifying and two, what if a witness lies under oath??
Herbert Lord
?Those will then have to be taken up by the Commission, and the Director of Public Prosecutions, who has the final say on whether that person will be prosecuted for perjury or otherwise. That if the person lies under oath. If he refuses to testify, he can refuse by saying he doesn?t want to incriminate himself, which is allowable by law. We would then have to look into it further and deals with it as the Commission of Inquiry act allows.?
Stewart Krohn
?These hearings are going to be publicized, carried live on radio, live on national television, what advice, or request do you have of the public who no doubt will be following these hearings very keenly??
David Price
?My advice has always been that the Commission of Inquiry, this one in particular, has been largely as a result of public participation in the process. That participation has to continue if anything is to come out of this inquiry it requires the support of the public. So I will ask them to continue to support of the Commission of Inquiry.?
Merelene Bailey Martinez, Commissioner, D.F.C. Inquiry
?We would also ask them not to prejudge the proceedings. During the Senate hearings there were a lot of prejudgments. We think the commission needs to go through its entirety before the public really starts judging the proceedings or judging the Commission or the inquiry itself. So that public participation needs to be there, but we also need to be allowed to do the work that we were commissioned to do.?
According to the Commissioners, they hope to complete all public hearings by November. While the Commission has declined to divulge the names of witnesses who will be called to testify, that list is expected to include former chairmen, managers, and employees of the D.F.C. as well as other officials of government, including members of Cabinet.
Merlene Bailey Martinez is the union nominee to the commission. She is a former public officer who served at the departments of Immigration and Income Tax. Prior to retirement, she was the deputy accountant general. Chairman David Price is a former teacher and was principal at Gwendolyn Lizarraga High. He has also served as the Director of the Quality Assurance and Development Services (QUADS) at the Ministry of Education. Commissioner Herbert Lord is the nation’s Chief Magistrate. While Price is expected to lead the questioning, Martinez and Lord are expected to be fully engaged in the proceedings.
