But that didn’t include any incentive given to her own family’s
business Peyrefitte Brothers. Their trade license went down though, but councillor
Peyrefitte says that’s because they relocated to a smaller space.
Leila Peyrefitte,
“I have never given my family business any trade off and no incentives.
Let me explain, we move from 77 Freetown Road to our current location; from
8,000 square foot to 5,000 square foot. Any business owner in Belize City who
has a business that downsizes has a right to request a reassessment. I never
gave Peyrefitte brothers any discount for trade license nor property tax.”
Other “close-to-home” issues raised in the audit report
show that during her tenure at the Revenue Department, Peyrefitte hired a trio
of collectors, Ana Sanchez, Michael Brown and Otis Smith. Problem is, they also
worked at her family’s business, Peyrefitte Brothers as sales representatives
and collectors.
According to the report, they earned as follows: Ana Sanchez $79,000
in commission, Michael Brown $70,000 in commission and Otis Smith $3,000 in
commission. These hefty commissions were earned from the collection of property
tax and trade license fees. According to Councillor Peyrefitte, Sanchez and
Brown still work at Peyrefitte Brothers and at the City Council.
Audit reports that the financial controller Dwain Davis did not approve
of the arrangement because Sanchez was not formally employed by the council.
Peyrefitte says they are legitimately employed and duly accredited as workers
at the council. We suspect this isn’t the last we’ve heard of this
sort of revelation – and while we aren’t seeing any accusatory releases
coming out of UDP headquarters on this one, this disclosure alone may force
Moya’s opponents to adjust their attack.
And while it sufficiently muddies the water for everyone – it
seems that it won’t help a bit in saving Mayor Moya from the initiations
of an expulsion procedure as the UDP National Party Council meets tomorrow to
appoint an ethics committee to consider disciplinary measures against her.
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