Just two weeks ago - it looked like the UDP had managed a political coup, the meetings of the Public Accounts Committee seemed to be going so well - with the social partners sitting in, a chartered accountant on board and the senior public officers there to testify.
Well, if the UDP government thinks that worked, they'd better come again. The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Council of Churches, the Association of Evangelical Churches and the National Trade Union Congress of Belize issued a joint statement today. It says, quote, "we wish to make it categorically clear that we absolutely cannot support the present Public Accounts Committee's unilateral public hearings." End quote.
It adds, "Albeit our respective Senators/representatives have been in attendance at these hearings they are there merely as observers, and not as an endorsement of these hearings. The recent statements advanced in the media, suggesting that the churches and social partners are fully on board with the PAC public hearings initiative, are grossly inaccurate. We cannot, and will not, in any way shape or form; legitimize "the government investigating itself"!" end quote.
And there's more. It goes unto say, quote,
"We emphatically declare that we refuse to lend credibility to such a charade."
And if that hot burst of vitriol weren't enough, the Chamber issued another statement this afternoon, this one on the Citizen Kim nationality debacle. IT says, quote, "This incident has disgraced Belize internationally and has compromised the credibility of our nationality, cast doubt on our national security, and has injured our national pride as Belizeans."
It continues,
"We call upon the Prime Minister, the Senate, and the Commissioner of Police to take immediate steps to address this most serious matter.
We call on the Prime Minister to convene a Commission of Inquiry comprised of non-political men and women of integrity who can review the actions of the Minister of Immigration and the Immigration Department. We join with the rest of our fellow Belizeans in insisting that no preference is given to the Minister who is at the middle of this scandal and that all persons who are found to have participated in or facilitated the issuance of this fraudulent passport face the full legal consequences of their actions." End quote.
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