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Did PM Know About Nationality Fraud?
posted (February 20, 2017)
And we also asked the Prime Minister about the Senate Inquiry into the Immigration Department.

One of the big disclosures came from the Former Immigration Director, Ruth Meighan. Under cross examination she agreed that in the run up to the 2012 General Elections, there was a rush to get large numbers of persons naturalized, so that they could be added to the voters list.

She said that this rush caused persons to be given nationality who did not qualify for it. The Opposition has seized on that to accuse the Barrow Government of stacking the deck for the 2012 General Elections in 2 divisions, Cayo Central and Cayo North East.

So, will the Prime Minister commission an investigation into those new citizens from that time period? In the Nationality Audit, the Auditor General complains that she discovered 2,110 persons who got nationality in that rush, but she was not able to review their files. From Her Audit she says, quote, "…we were unable to request and examine all of those Nationality files to confirm whether those persons met all the requirements for Belizean Nationality under the Nationality Act Chapter 161. Further investigation is required." End quote.

In an earlier part of her report, she also references this rush, and that she received reports suggesting that the Prime Minister had some knowledge of it.

She said, quote, "When it was requested from the OIC, Nationality Section, Mr. Gordon Wade…He gave us an electronic spreadsheet of nationality certificates that were signed by the Minister prior to the 2012 General and Municipal Elections and said that the list was prepared for the Unions as requested by the Prime Minister and that is the only reason why a list of nationality certificates existed."

So, what does the Prime Minister have to say about all that? Here's his conversation with us yesterday:

Isani Cayetano - reporter
"The inquiry into the immigration and the scandal, so to speak, there have been word coming out of that particular inquest that the 2012 elections, in terms of the naturalization of immigrants into Belize ahead of that elections was done specifically to bolster the UDP's chances of winning."

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"That's nonsense man, that's absolute nonsense. Listen, you can check the historical records and you can check the anecdotal evidence. You would have had in your archives footage of the crowds that line up for nationalization before an election because indeed people want to get their citizenship so that they can vote, and that's all that happened on this occasion. Now, admittedly, among the hundreds, perhaps thousands, that did get nationalization before the last election, there would have been a few cases, as it would now turn out, of people whose papers were not in fact in order. So my best guess, you might find 30 or so of those cases. You are, without a doubt not talking about any significant numbers such as would have or could have made a difference to the election results."

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"Former director Ruth Meighan has conceded, in the senate inquiries, that there was national defraud and that it transferred over to voter fraud and the auditor general notes that she wants to look specifically at 2,110..."

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"That's nonsense; they are talking about to the 2 thousand where there was not the biometrics system in place. Nobody is saying that there were 2 thousand passports that were issued fraudulently. I think the media ran off with that kind of characterization from the time the question of the lack of biometrics came up. We had a press conference at the Biltmore where the director, the new director, and the experts showed you that you cannot equate the lack of biometrics with fraud. There is nothing at all that can support any claim that 2 thousand and odd persons were wrongly given nationality."

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"Sir, that is what the auditor general said in the report. She wants the government and she wants herself to look at those 2 thousand and make sure."

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"But we've already told you, you cannot, it doesn't make any sense at all to say that the lack of biometrics screening meant QED that the passports so given were fraudulent, that's nonsense. And you can't prove a negative, so I'm very sorry. But please, it is as I said earlier, let the senate inquiry, let any other official, I'm happy to commission that sort of an exercise, make the kind of investigation into how many people were actually given irregularly or illegally or improperly nationality certificates who then registered and voted. Find that out and then we can start talking again. You cannot seek now to try to delegitimize the resounding victory of the United Democratic Party at the polls on the last election."

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"Would you be prepared, if those persons are indeed found of that 2,111, that they voted in the election, would their nationality be rejected? I'm saying from that number sir."

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Indeed, those persons who were given nationality illegally, of course the question of canceling their passports, cancelling their nationality has to arise. Now let me just leave it there, although some of them might no doubt have an argument saying that they didn't do anything wrong, they thought their documentation was in order and the blame is therefore on the officials and on the public service. But let's not even get in to that. In principle, the automatic answer to your question is that on the face of it- prima facie, anybody who received a passport improperly is liable to have that passport cancelled."

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