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Sewell says she got the news on the 29th. September, that when her contract expired the following day - it would not be renewed. She said it came as a shock:…

Jules Vasquez
"Were you shocked?"

Debbie Sewell, General Manager of the Belize Natural Energy Trust
"Of course."

Jules Vasquez
"Did you have the expectation that going forward you would have an automatic renewal?"

Debbie Sewell, General Manager of the Belize Natural Energy Trust
"I did have that expectation."

Jules Vasquez
"And was that expectation based on anything though?"

Debbie Sewell, General Manager of the Belize Natural Energy Trust
"Yes and all the process leading up to that indicated that my contract would be renewed. Actually I had been offered new terms which I agreed to and signed and it was only pending the board approval."

Jules Vasquez
"You had every expectation. What happened?"

Debbie Sewell, General Manager of the Belize Natural Energy Trust
"What happen between the 12th and 15th I am not sure but I know there were some issues leading up to the 15th."

Jules Vasquez
"Specify."

Debbie Sewell, General Manager of the Belize Natural Energy Trust
"For example I had been asked to push an agenda which I did not agree with. It's not slush fund; it's not something that should disappear within 2 years."

Jules Vasquez
"Do you harbor bitterness or resentment against these government directors?"

Debbie Sewell, General Manager of the Belize Natural Energy Trust
"No I don't, I really don't because the way that I look at it is really ignorance. I think that people have operated a certain way for a long and in a lot of different organizations you hear the stories every single day. This is not uncommon, what is uncommon is me saying no and me not really trying to protect my job by just saying yes and I've never been that person so, no, I am not bitter. I just feel that this needs to done and we need to stand our ground because the trust fund has been doing some amazing things in the last 2 years. I think it's a conflict of interest to have a chairperson who is running for political office as the chair of a trust fund. I think, one, that's a conflict of interest; secondly I feel that the new appointees have allowed politics to hijack policies and procedures and it's a shame because people aren't going to come to the table and want to be a part of this when its being used for political gains. That's not going to happen. We have the issue right now - and maybe this is another issue why my contract isn't being renewed - I have asked Mr. Burns to account for some school desks that went up north to be delivered, it was a container load of 358 desks; he accounted for 125. And then why was everyone else in the country paying $3.00 when the people up north were paying $5.00 for a desk? Where did the other $2.00 go? Because we received $3.00 for a desk from up north but we have records to show that schools actually paid $5.00 each for desk so I've asked for these accounting. i have ask them to account for these items and he has not been able to do it."

We did speak with Chairman Orlando Burns by telephone this evening and he told us that what she is alleging is, quote, "a total lie." He says that he delivered the school chairs at her request, that all were distributed, and that - through an arrangement he made - the price of each chair to all except two schools was covered by the business community - meaning that the schools got the chairs free. He said the cost was five dollars, which includes three dollars for the cost of the chair and two dollars for freight.

As for her contract - he says she was asking for a 50% increase in her salary and a package of benefits. He says she is free to apply when the General manager's post is advertised.