7 News Belize

Was Clive’s Demise BTB’s Doing?
posted (December 22, 2014)
Last week, the scandal of Clive Myers, the Director of Marketing BTB was all the news. He resigned 2 days after being formally appointed, after credible allegations emerged illustrating that he allegedly faked his academic credentials. A still unknown whistle-blower collated and circulated documents which show that Myers does not have bachelor's and master's degrees, as he claims.

Myers has not yet given any public explanation and neither has he come straight out to deny the allegations made against him.

And while he has the right to say nothing, not so with the BTB - they're a public body - and are obliged to explain how they failed in their due diligence.

This weekend, we got a chance to speak with Tracey Taegar-Panton, the CEO in the Ministry of Tourism, and a member of the Board of BTB, and we asked about it:

Tracey Taegar Panton - CEO, Ministry of Tourism
"I am very aware of the situation. The matter is under investigation, so I really speak to any facts. We will obviously do a very rigorous investigation to determine what really the situation is. I will say this though; Mr. Myers has worked with the Belize Tourism Board for 4 years and before us he has work with other institutions as well and we cannot fault him in terms of his performance."

Reporter
"How is it that someone if it is true, that he doesn't have his credentials - how is it that he moved up to a director in the institution and due diligence was not done?"

Tracey Taegar Panton - CEO, Ministry of Tourism
"I think that Mr. Myers personal file was complete and when the board reviewed potential candidates, it did so base on what was in his personal file. So, I wouldn't say that due diligence was not done. Now, moving forward, go a little deeper. There was no reason for us to think that any of what was in his personal file was falsified or not appropriate information. Mr. Myers came to the Belize Tourism Board from another institution within the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. There was no reason for us to believe that any information was inappropriate or not correct. His performance as I said earlier really was way above the rest and we can't fault him on performance. We can't fault him on commitment. We can't fault him on his work, in terms of the level of energy and effort that he has put into his work at the BTB both in the destination planning department and in as he was elevated."

Daniel Ortiz
"Your comment would suggest that if indeed he is a fraud that if his performance is okay then its okay for him to have side-step the rules."

Tracey Taegar Panton - CEO, Ministry of Tourism
"I did not say that. That was not what I said. I said that we had no reason to believe - his personal file was complete and we had no reason to believe that the documents in that file were in any way inappropriate."

Reporter
"We understand that 3 persons are currently under investigation; one has been suspended. That person has already tendered her resignation. What proof do you have on these persons that are under investigation?"

Tracey Taegar Panton - CEO, Ministry of Tourism
"I will say this; the entire case is under investigation. We don't have any conclusive information. We do have reasons to believe that there were persons involved at the BTB and those people were suspended until the results of the investigations became apparent. There are staff at the BTB who we believe were involved in the process and those people have been put on suspension pending the close of the investigation."

Reporter
"Ma'am, you are referring to Andrea Polanco, the PR Manager?"

Tracey Taegar Panton
"Yes, she was one staff member who was put in terms of the investigation."

Reporter
"Because it is believe that she had dealings with it?"

Tracey Taegar Panton
"We believe that there are staff members at the BTB who were involved in this case. We are now doing an investigation and when that investigation is completed we will then know what appropriate steps to take."

Daniel Ortiz
"What do you make of Mr. Myers resignation immediately as these rumors arise? Doesn't it lend credibility to the suggestion that they are indeed true?"

Tracey Taegar Panton
"I am not going to speculate on why Mr. Myers made whatever decision he made. I think the best person to answer that question for you would be Mr. Myers directly."

We understand that Public Relations Manager Andrea Polanco has tendered a letter of resignation. The reason, we are told, is that she is no longer comfortable working at the organization since her superiors have brought this allegation against her that she is somehow connected to the leaked documents to the press.

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