Visas hustle…Godwin Hulse says it’s happening
Godwin Hulse
And then there is the damning revelation of a quota system being operated by U.D.P. ministers. The Prime Minister admits to getting reports of that large scale nationality hustle, and claims that he has at every opportunity begged his ministers to “for god’s sake stop.” Here at News Five, we have consistently received credible information that the quota system does exist, and is run by U.D.P. players of the Western Caucus. We have been told that it has been going on for months, and is referred to as an institutionalized hustle. Institutionalized it may be, but it is surely in no way legal. A big part of that operation is procuring visas for foreign nationals, who pay ridiculous sums of money for that official document. Again, Minister Hulse says he knows it’s happening, and they’re doing all they can, but that the world is real.
Reporter
“Are you all prepared to examine the issuance of visas the way you all have examined the issues of passports; A. And B, are you prepared to entertain that as there has been fraudulent activity with passports so then inevitably there must be with visas as well?”
Godwin Hulse, Minister of Immigration
“The answer to that, I think I laid out when I made my presentation that indeed we also created a visa approval committee which is going to include three very prominent C.E.O.s and of course the director of immigration to look and tighten up on visas. We recognize that there are all sorts of things going on with visas. The world is complex you know. Operatives try to travel through places that they find easy; money moves all over the place. I can tell you that we have had many long night discussions of how we could lock these things down. But it all resides in the integrity of some persons. And at our borders where visas are issued to persons for example countries that are not under heavy scrutiny, those visas reside in the care of an officer who would look at your passport. We are hoping and praying—and this is why we said that we are going through a serious restructuring and reorganizing of the department—we are hoping that people would be honest enough. And we do have some honest people in the immigration department and I don’t want to leave without saying there are some very good people in the immigration department who come to us. And there are officers in the immigration department who have been offered good amount of bribes and they have said no. and we will hope that there are more of those people. But the world is real and things are real and if ten thousand and fifteen thousand is put in front of some people, the temptation is strong. But we are doing everything possible in trying to tighten up that area as well.”
News Five has already obtained documentation which shows that the visa hustle is not only confined to the immigration department in Belmopan and that aside from a reported ministerial visa quota, many others are involved. In fact, there is a report dated January twenty-eighth, 2013 of an investigation at the Belize Western Border station where over a hundred visa foils went missing in late December of 2012. The investigation named a city council employee, Patrick Tillett, and councilor Eric Chang, who has also been linked to the ongoing passport scandal. According to the report, Chang had obtained two of the missing visas; the price paid was nine thousand six hundred dollars which included consultancy fees.
Hulse: “We recognize that there are all sorts of things going on with visas. The world is complex you know. Operatives try to travel through places that they find easy; money moves all over the place”
The keyword is money. The world is not complex, as long as you have the $$$, under Hulse watch everything is for sale.
Poor Goodwin Hulse. Lol! He doesn’t realize what a big pappy-sho he is making of himself. He should beg Barrow to “for God”s sake, stop” and “let me” go home. Laughing stock!!! News Five, please keep digging!!! Dig and Dig and let the chips fall where they may. We are fed up of the Dean Barrows, Penner’s, Said Musas, Erwin Contreras’, Max Samuels’ and the Castros’. Where is the Bar Association. We need to hear from u!!!
Everybody knows corruption is rampant at immigration. When the corrupt PM, Hulse and others try to cover up, they are giving the green light to say its OK. We know it there but lets leave it like that. We need to demand that no more salary be paid to Penner, and open the Immigration to see the independent investigators, so we can see the magnitude of this hustling. We need ACB, the police, the churches, the unions all with one voice to demand that and investigation be done now. We are tired of this charade our LEADERS are playing with words and thinking that we are all dumb fools who must go along with what they are saying.
The investigation named a city council employee, Patrick Tillett, and councilor Eric Chang, who has also been linked to the ongoing passport scandal. According to the report, Chang had obtained two of the missing visas; the price paid was nine thousand six hundred dollars which included consultancy fees.
This passport scandal has its tentacles everywhere. Tillett is suppose to be the honest person sent to keep city council finance in check and free of corrupt hustling. He has nothing to do with immigration, but as you notice Eric Chang name also come up again. They did not give only his last name, to give the impression that there is a rumor, they had facts that this young man is deep in hustling from visa fraud. We understand why the Prime Minister is now afraid to open Pandora’s box, because the millions of dollars people paid for those visas, passport and citizenship could create a back lash never before seen in this country, because all those documents delivered should be made null and void. You just don’t know how hard it has become for an honest person to work in a place where there is open hustling. Even the prime minister will be upset with you for spilling the beans by being honest. Lord have Mercy unto our soul!
It is quite frustrating and discouraging when one meets all the legal requirements (and some) and has a very difficult time obtaining citizenship. I finally obtained citizenship, but I was about ready to throw in the towel.
Godwin Hulse is a dumb fool…..u r wasting ur time in making more rules its u together with the entire U.D.P that break the rules…..we as citizens we meet d requirements u all at immigration department break all the rules. So no come and try brain wash me. Its not gonna work.
Well your time has come. As they say in Seppuku, your second has arrived to make it swift.
He has spoken: a visa quota system exists, and the rats are working it.
As you said: “That is what will cause the government to fall.”
>>”we are hoping that people would be honest”
Spoken like a solid UDP man with a straight face to foolish people listening.
“places that they find easy; money” out of context, but perfect
So Beano, your end is near. No one lives forever. You are going down. The knives are drawn. You definitely will go down as the most corrupt administration in the short life of Belize.
will you implode the country? hard to tell. But you and your ilk almost castrated it.
What is left? time to do the patriotic thing for Belize. RESIGN before it gets far worse.
Eric the Chang does the visa hustle better than he does the punta or John Kanu.
still on travel?
never coming home?
still selling visas abroad?
and passports too?
Eric, the man who dedicated his life to his country, Belize or whatever flag he claims today.
correction: Eric the Change.
He is not a minister, so he just gets the change. Barrow and crew get the bills.
Peggy, the government makes it their duty to purposely make the system frustrating and discouraging with alot of turn around and red tape…in every sector of government in belize when applying for birth certificates, passport, drivers license, land, social security, nationality, visas, etc. The government wants you go give up and pay handsomely on the side to have your documents processed in a haste…after all, money speaks all languages…which ever government office you go government workers take they own time to do everything, they arent efficicient..all they do is sit on their asses the entire day, take two hour lunch breaks and leave work by 3:30 or 4 each day…
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE THE BIGGER EMBARRASSMENT WAS WHEN THE CLEAR THE LAND MAN WENT TO TAIWAN WITH HIS NASTINESS. THAT IS A BIGGER SHAME WHEN CAN WE DEAL WITH THIS NONSENSE. THAT CLEAR THE LAND MAN WAS DISGRACEFUL AND HE HAS GIVEN BELIZE A BLACK EYE WHEN ARE WE GOING TO HEAR MORE ABOUT HIS STUFF !!!! WHEN WILL HE BE DISCIPLINED AND FIRED !!!!
PLEASE THE BIGGER EMBARRASSMENT WAS WHEN THE CLEAR THE LAND MAN WENT TO TAIWAN WITH HIS NASTINESS. THAT IS A BIGGER SHAME WHEN CAN WE DEAL WITH THIS NONSENSE. THAT CLEAR THE LAND MAN WAS DISGRACEFUL AND HE HAS GIVEN BELIZE A BLACK EYE WHEN ARE WE GOING TO HEAR MORE ABOUT HIS STUFF !!!! WHEN WILL HE BE DISCIPLINED AND FIRED !!!!
Well Hulse has found a new business that is more lucrative than the sale of tons of sugar and rice to guatemala. passport and visa sales is more profitable. plain and simple.
is this any answer that should come out of the mouth of the person in charge of a department. He just said there is nothing else he can do! Are these people stupid?
Godwin-
Admitting to the existence of the visa hustle, this pretty much seals it.
Tell the PM, by his own standards, his government has fallen from grace. He can no longer rule effectively.
It is only a matter of time the whole country goes on strike. Kind of like when the buses stopped, during the bus license scandal a few years back. But a national strike will be much worse, the economy has a heart attack. Tourists and cruise ships feel the brunt, internationally the country looks bad, runs off investors, scares people inside and outside Belize, particularly if it gets out of control and violent, and does long-term damage. But sometimes getting a root canal is painful. Belizeans are strong, and if necessary will pull the tooth.
It has come to that. The Belizean people are the government’s doctor. The will of the people will fix this. Make it easy or make it hard, your leadership is at an end. I know it is going to be hard walking away from all the perks, but it is time to think about our country and step aside like they do in peaceful nations. Berlusconi can do it, you can do it. Don’t be like Captain Francesco Schettino.
Think of the country, think of the country’s children now and yet to be born.
if the prime minister believe on what he says about the recall system he put place, for god sake, leave it alone and let democracy rule. Is he afraid of his own make and regrets his own work? for god sake, stop campaigning and do your job as the prime minister-find more people who are selling the visas and send them packing. that is what you should be doing. Let disgraced Penner work harder and apologize for himself to his constituents. Have all your minister get back to work and stop wasting their time campaigning. I need to see the result of my hard earn tax money in to work
I can recall long ago when Mr Hulse champion the cause of its citizen. Has he now completely telling the truth at the immigration?? I am suspicious. Is he supporting this corruption at the highest level. My perception about him has completely change of who he was.
If Mr Hulse truly wants to know where the corruption is he should put an undercover sting in place. This is not a new story, it is just and ongoing saga, that is left unchecked after people loose interest in one scandal and then the talking heads start talking at the next scandal.
The truth is that Mr Hulse have no clue how to get this under control. We need to ask the question why has this been left to go on so long if he and the PM knows there has been corruption and does nothing about it.
Peggy, it was difficult for you because you went about this the right way. This is a government that upholds and rewards dishonesty and put honesty on the backseat.
If a common citizen commits a crime, he/she is punished if found guilty. If a Police man commits a crime, he should be dealt with much more quickly, and with double the penalty. They are the upholders of the law, should be trusted, and therefore must be dealt with more severely. If our law enforcers because become overrun by corruption, the whole country suffers.
If a Minister commits a crime, he/she should be dealt with immediately and much more harshly. We entrust you guys to make laws, and enforce them for he benefit of all, and therefore any corruption found in your midst, is detrimental to the whole country. As such no minister SHOULD BE FORGIVEN or given any second chances.
What is this madness coming from our Prime Minister, calling for a second chance for Penner? PM you said it’s the first time Penner has done something wrong, believe me when we say, we want to believe you. However, your double standard way of talking and doing just the opposite, tells us your word can no longer be trusted. We demand for an OPEN INVESTIGATION into the Penner scandal and, who knows, you might be right? Its truly PATHETIC to see the way you guys keep lying to the nation, just to save what? Your credibility have long gone.