Minister will open up housing documents to media
While things are quiet at the Belize City Council, the ground work is set for a battle royale between the National Trade Union Congress of Belize and the government. Cabinet rejected N.T.U.C.B.’s tardy decision to hold a seat on the commission that would oversee how the twenty million dollars from the Venezuelan grant program would be spent. But how transparent can the Housing Ministry be without the N.T.U.C.B.? Earlier in the week, Housing Minister, Michael Finnegan said there is still one other social partner that he would invite to his office to go through the paperwork, that is the media.
Michael Finnegan, Minister of Housing
“Like two point five million dollars spend up to now, I guess since last week. I don’t really know the numbers offhand. I guess from last week to now wah lot more spend. So often from now I will call unnu in and mek unnu get an update and mek unnu peruse the documents them, mek unnu peruse the process that is taking place because there is nothing to hide. I don’t want to quarrel with nobody. I am an old politician looking to go out in grace and peace with everybody. I have been in politics for donkey’s years. I noh want quarrel wid nobody. I have total respect for the National Trade Union Congress and all the other social partners in this country. They have a view. I have my own view and that is over with me. Cabinet has made a decision; Cabinet is above me. I cannot redo what Cabinet do. I cud just tell you from the day before what is my point of view. If Cabinet me gone di other way, glory to Cabinet.”
The N.T.U.C.B. isn’t taking rejection lightly, on Thursday morning N.T.U.C.B.’s Secretary General, Javier Roberts sat behind the Prime Minister at the official inauguration of the K.H.M.H. Commission of Inquiry. After the event, Roberts said that the N.T.U.C.B. and its associate unions would decide on a plan of action to respond to G.O.B. Roberts said that the N.T.U.C.B. is fine tuning its plan of action and would let us know early next week how it intends to spar with the Barrow administration.
