Yesterday, we showed you how Auditor General Dorothy Bradley had a very tough afternoon in the Senate Hearings. The senators are trying to get to the bottom of the mass irregularities in the Immigration and Nationality that her audit has revealed. 

First though, they’re examining the work that she and her audit team did, and they are trying to ensure that it accurately reflects what had been happening at Immigration between 2011 and 2013. In last night’s newscast, we showed you how under persistent questioning, she had to abandon her assertion that it is “illegalâ€￾ for ministers of Government to intervene in the Visa application process. 

She instead amended to say that she now asserts that it is “irregularâ€￾ for those ministers to have sent letters of recommendation asking for special consideration for certain applicants.

But, even then, the Senate Members did not let the matter lie. The Senate Committee Chairman, Aldo Salazar, then challenged her on her position that it is irregular for these letters to have been sent. Here’s how that back and forth went yesterday:

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
“Why is it irregular for someone to write a letter of introduction or consideration for the issuance of a visa? Why is that irregular?â€￾

Dorothy Bradley - Auditor General
“It is irregular because when you look at the file and you look at the individual application form we noted that ministers made recommendations and in those instances recommendations were further facilitated with nationality and passport. So we based on our examination felt that it was irregular that in all instances...â€￾

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
“So it’s not the fact that a minister wrote that is irregular? Just follow me for a minute, what you saying what is irregular are that nationality or passports were provided without the relevant documentation, the required documentation?â€￾

Dorothy Bradley - Auditor General
“It is irregular because...â€￾

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
“What regulation does it contravene?â€￾

Dorothy Bradley - Auditor General
“It is irregular because when you look at the regulations and whatever administrative notes they have there as guidance it makes no provisions for a minister to make a recommendation.â€￾

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
“But what regulation does it contravene?â€￾

Dorothy Bradley - Auditor General
“Which one it doesn’t, it’s not on anyone we looked at. We don’t see any provisions that say that a minister may send or make a recommendation on an applicant’s behalf.â€￾

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
“My concern with the use of the word irregular suggests that there is a regulation. It seems that there is a regulation which is contravened when you say it was irregular. But following up on another answer which you have, you also said that the fact of the minister’s letter operated in the mind of the officer to issue whatever it was. How do you know this?â€￾

Dorothy Bradley - Auditor General
“I never said that.â€￾

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
“I believe you said that in answer to Senator Courtenay’s question...â€￾

Dorothy Bradley - Auditor General
“How it operated in the mind of the officers...â€￾

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
"So you didn't say that?"

Dorothy Bradley - Auditor General
"I did not."

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
"In your view let’s say I have a friend in China. I'm an attorney, I'm a Senator, my friend is applying for a visa. I feel that I can lend to the process what is irregular about me writing and saying I know him? He's an outstanding person and ask for consideration, any courtesy extended to him would appreciated. Is that irregular?"

Dorothy Bradley - Auditor General
"I don't know that I would have to examine what you wrote against what is there, comparing what but for you to just say that I wouldn't..."

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
"But you see the problem I'm having; you are the person who has said that this is irregular."

Dorothy Bradley - Auditor General
"But I did that based on what I found."

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
"So what is it that you found?"

Carla Faber - Senior Auditor
"The ministers don't know these people that they are recommending or requesting visas for, that sort of thing."

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
"How do you determine that?"

Carla Faber - Senior Auditor
"Because these people live in other countries, they are foreigners that was our belief."

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
"But if the minister says that they know the person very well?"

Dorothy Bradley - Auditor General
"We don't know we didn't ask the minister."

Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
"So that is the point that I feel that it is very important to separate things. If you're saying that I don't think what you're saying is that the writing of a letter is irregular or was illegal. What you're saying is that in instances where some because you're not in a positon from the testimony you have given you are not in a positon to say that there is any scientific relationship between a minister giving a recommendation and the application being approved because you haven't said in these cases where the minister gave a recommendation it was approved."

"What was irregular is that officers of the immigration department approved certain things without the requisite documentation, is that what was irregular or is that the letter was irregular?"

Dorothy Bradley - Auditor General
"The letter you are doing it from that angle, I am saying that when I looked at it, when it was brought to my attention those letters are letters of recommendation by the minister. It ask for sponsorship, those letters aren’t sponsoring so they are two different and I think maybe the Senator was asking; two different a recommendation and sponsorship, it asked for sponsorship."

The Senate Hearings continue next week Wednesday, and we’ll be there to show you what happens

7 News for Thursday, 8th December, 2016 from 7News Belize on Vimeo.