Citco finance officer says councillors saw reports

But during an off camera interview with News Five this afternoon, the financial director for the Belize City Council, Pauline Wade, vehemently denied Trujeque’s version of the facts. According to Wade, every month each councillor is provided with a report on the state of the city’s finances. Based on copies of those reports, the second page of that document is headed “Mayor’s Office” and lists all expenditures, with loans and salary advances on the second line. Wade further contended that during her work with the previous council, none of the councillors ever questioned her regarding any aspect of her reports. As to why Wade continued to approve loans and accept bad cheques from the Mayor, she categorically states that even as a signatory to the council’s accounts, her job description limits her to giving advice and making recommendations and she had no choice but to sign any documents or cheques approved by her bosses, including the mayor and city administrator. As part of our investigations, members of the new council have pointed to the minutes of one meeting last year, alleging that a councillor did question the excessive sums allotted to salaries in the Mayor’s office, jokingly saying that if the amount was correct, she would like to be a secretary. We are told that the Mayor responded by telling the councillor the figure in question was a “typographical error” and the clerical mistake would be corrected.