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Hulse on Auditor General's Report
posted (June 11, 2014)

And today in our very last item from the prime ministerial press conference, we asked Immigration Minister Hulse about the auditor general's report.

COLA issued a release yesterday saying that it indicts senior officials in the Department, especially Director of Immigration, Maria Marin for showing blatant disrespect to the office of the Auditor General. It adds that the Report indicates that according to the Director, much, if not all of the pertinent information requested by the Audit Department is with Godwin Hulse.

We asked Hulse about that today:..

Hon. Godwin Hulse - Minister of Immigration
"The only issue, I will say, with respect to that is that indeed, she alleges that there was non-cooperation on the part of the Director. That is absolutely inaccurate, and I will say that, because as I understand it, officers who were doing the audit kept asking officers in Immigration for documentation, and their response was, it is with the Director, or is it with the Minister. There is a protocol in Government for communications, man. It's called memorandum. The Auditor General, when her officer reported that to her, should have written to the Director formally to request - or written to the Ministry. Now, I understand from the Director that there was no such correspondence written to her to request any documentation. I understand that from her. I can categorically say that there was none written to the Ministry, as there was no correspondence to me saying, 'We needed documents A,B and C, which we understand are in your custody, or the custody of the CEO'. There was no such correspondence. When the Auditor General did write to me, of course, I immediately responded and say, 'Oh no, we'll give you maximum cooperation, and if there is an issue with getting documentation, please forward that to the CEO, who will facilitate forthwith.' That, was done." 

And today the Prime Minister also discussed the auditor general's report.  He's had the preliminary version for months – and says that while it points the finger at Penner, he doesn't believe that it criminally implicates him.  He explained, again, the difference between factual and legal guilt:

Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister of Belize
"That report will point to a number of other instances, and will finger Minister Penner, but I'm saying that's not anything new. I said that a long time ago, but whether - well - my own assessment, it will not take things any further in terms of providing the Director of Public Prosecutions with the kind of provable material that can be introduced as evidence in a court of law."

The auditor general's report will not be tabled at Friday's House Meeting. 





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