And while the Prime Minister has all that on his plate – coming up on Wednesday he also has a mass demonstration led by the PUP. And the party is not letting up on the passport that his brother in law Peter William Dahlstrom obtained. The auditor general said it was irregular – and last week Immigration Minister Godwin Hulse explained why it was not. Today the PUP Senators held a press conference to say Hulse was wrong, and that he should resign and let the police investigate:…
Hon. Michel Chebat - PUP Senator
"Minister Godwin Hulse on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, Dean Barrow and his wife Kim Simplis Barrow approved the application for Belizean nationality of Peter William Dahlstrom a native of Sweden. Granting him and signing a Belize national certificate for the Prime Minister's brother in law even though he did not meet the legal qualifications as required by the nationality act. Minister Hulse most deceptively relied on Section 11-4 of the immigration act to try to legitimise his illegal action. Mr. Godwin Hulse signed the nationality certificate even though the application to it was clear that the applicant did not meet the requirement and sections of the form that were required to be checked and signed by the immigration department's vetting officers were not checked, yet Minister Hulse still signed the certificate. The Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's wife would know that Peter Williams Dahlstrom was not living in Belize when he applied for nationality, never lived in Belize for a year prior to his application and is still not living in Belize."
"Ladies and gentlemen for all of these reasons we are calling for the following: 1. the government to revoke the passport and nationality certificate of Mr. Peter Dahlstrom along with all other fraudulent passports and nationality certificates identified in the Auditor General's special audit report. 2. Minister Godwin Hulse resigns immediately from the post of Minister of Police to allow for a fair and unbiased investigation into the findings of the Auditor General's special audit report and 3. The reinstitution of the motion in the Senate for a Senate Inquiry which is the only mechanism specifically allowed under the constitution of Belize to investigate these matters."
Jules Vasquez
"Why have you all chose to zone in on the Dahlstrom case?"
Hon. Michel Chebat - PUP Senator
"Jules I think the Dahlstrom case is very significant of what is happening in the government overall. It shows that from the very top level that there have been fraudulent actions being taken from people at the very top. And so this is a perfect example of what is going on and being sanctioned by people at the very top of the government."
Hon. Valerie Woods - PUP Senator
"The important fact also is the fact that we are now dealing with a Minister that is not just the Minister of Immigration; he's also the Minister of Police. And so even if we were to be generous and trust that a joint committee with a majority led government members in it could even dare to be fair; when it comes to having the police follow up these investigations, how can the police follow it up when one of the glaring instances involves their boss the Minister of Police? As you would a say inna Creole, rat can't mind cheese."
The PUP has also launched a sustained campaign to revive their idea for a Senate Select Committee to investigate the Auditor General’s reports. The Government has counter-proposed – and won civil society support for a joint house/senate select committee. That will have membership of the social partners – but it the majority will come from the ruling UDP. The PUP plan – which was defeated in the Senate - would have put the social partners in the majority with only one UDP member. Thought it never made it out of the senate, and the social partners have mostly agreed to the government model, the PUP is still pushing for their Senate select committee. Today the explained why:…
Hon. Michel Chebat - PUP Senator
"How can we have a joint or a bicameral committee when in fact the majority of the persons who would make up that committee would be as a matter of course Ministers who may or not have been named; and I think you have to realise that such a committee, whatever report, whatever they decide would first have to go to cabinet. Can you see a cabinet requiring that one of its Ministers be brought to justice?"
Hon. Paul Thompson - PUP Senator
"Why is it now that the government and the Prime Minister is trying to cover up and obfuscate for their own interest by trying to form a bicameral committee as opposed to a Senate select committee. We think that we should continue to follow the constitution and let the system work."
The PUP has also started an electronic petition to generate public support for the Senate inquiry.
Email
Print