Elrington says Penner scandal won’t affect Barrow Administration

Wilfred Elrington

Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington has also weighed in on the passport scandal.  His position is that despite the severe infractions that have taken place at the Immigration Department at the hands of former Minister of State Elvin Penner, those wrongdoings pale in comparison to what has been taking place in the ministry all along.  Elrington says that should there be a bye-election in the Cayo Northeast constituency the fate of the United Democratic Party and the Barrow administration won’t hang in the balance.  In fact, he says, Penner’s recall and subsequent replacement can stand to bolster support of the party in that area.

Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“I don’t subscribe with the view that the fate of the administration hangs in the balance in relation to the Penner affair. Actually if you know the history of Belize, you would readily understand and appreciate that what Penner is alleged to have done in my view pales into insignificance compared to what other politicians have done in the past. So that it is certainly unfortunately what he has done is clearly improper if the evidence is believed and the facts that we have are to be believed and without in any way condoning what he did, I can tell you that in my view there are ministers of government, people that are in very high positions in government—much higher than Penner’s—who have done much things that are much worse than what he had done. And certainly the Belizean population did not hung them out of office. I think the Belizean population are generally cautious and have been of the view that well we are not all saints. Belizeans tend to understand that and I think they are prone to be more tolerant because I think some very serious infractions have taken place over the years, but the Belizean people have not in fact overreacted in relation to those incidents. So while I think the Penner incident is quote unfortunate, I don’t think it is in fact anyway going to imperil the Barrow administration or this administration at all.”

But Penner maintains that he won’t resign since he has strong support from Cayo Northeast. Penner, who is in Guatemala getting medical attention, says that he will return to Belize on Sunday and will embark on consultations with constituents in the division.