Another of the witnesses who came back today for a second round with the Senate Committee was Gordon Wade, formerly the Officer In Charge of Nationality at the Immigration Department.

PUP Senator Eamon Courtenay used that opportunity to get more information from him on that immigration rush heading up to the 2012 General Elections.

Wade and former Director Ruth Meighan have told the Senate the same thing, that the rush compromised the Nationality procedures when over 2,000 applications were processed before that Election. The Opposition is accusing the UDP of using that feverish activity to steal two marginal electoral seats: Cayo North East, and Cayo Central. When we asked the Prime Minister about it, he said that was nonsense, and so, Courtenay asked Wade more questions to explore what exactly happened during the last 4 months before the 2012 General Elections. Here’s how that conversation went:

Hon. Mark Lizarraga - Business Senator
"So there were instance when the files were not complete you would make a note and say this file is missing is missing so and so. It would then go to the director, the director would make a decision whether she would pass it on the minister or not. I'm taking about those files that you did not recommend but that you sent up incomplete. Did you ever see any of those files? Were they ever approved for nationality being incomplete? That was my question."

Gordon Wade - Former OIC, Nationality Section
"Yes sir."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"And was this frequent, was this a frequent occurrence?"

Gordon Wade
"Well the last time I was here the questioned was asked and that was mostly prevalent during the time when we had a lot of applications being processed in 2, 3 months."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"Prior to elections?"

Gordon Wade
"Yes that was when most of the files in that status would have gone up."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"The level of vetting that was taking place was it anymore intense or less intense that the ordinary?"

Gordon Wade
"Sir with the magnitude of applications I don't think they could have been more. I remember it was a time between let’s say 3, 4 months and the magnitude that was done in that time I don't think it could have been more scrutiny."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"So what you are saying and I want to be very clear is that because of the amount and the significant amount and the short period of processing, you're saying that the vetting was not more than usual?"

Gordon Wade
"No."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"Would it be less?"

Gordon Wade
"It would definitely be."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"Now there are only a finite number of people in the vetting department."

Gordon Wade
"Final vetting in the department should be done by myself."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"But below that where the vetting is taking place, how many employees, how many officers?"

Gordon Wade
"At any given time I would say 2 to 3 other - which would be considered a pre vetting because final vetting was done by the officer in charge. So the other officers in the section would have done a pre vetting."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"What I want to know is at this time again around up to the 2012 election when things were being expedited, was there an increase in the number of officers who were doing the pre vetting or was it just the same two?"

Gordon Wade
"During that time there were officers that were doing final vetting not only pre vetting, a part from myself."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"So there were people who were actually giving final approval and recommendation-"

Gordon Wade
"Final recommendation to the director."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"Not you, in addition to you?"

Gordon Wade
"In addition to me."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"So was there extra staff brought on?"

Gordon Wade
"From the office in Belmopan from the different sections."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"Isn't that out of the ordinary?"

Gordon Wade
"Considering yes, that's why the sections are specific."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"And so this was being done to facilitate-"

Gordon Wade
"The magnitude of applications that were being processed during that time."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"And then finally, for some time it was known that a substantial number of these nationalities were approved on files that were incomplete to be charitable, let's say incomplete- has there been any review in the immigration department of these files to go back to see how many of them were complete, how many were incomplete?"

Gordon Wade
"No sir that hasn't been done."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"So there is now review to saw that those persons who are walking around with passports that they are not legally entitled to - to find those people and cancel their passports."

Gordon Wade
"No sir that has not been done."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"Does the law provide for persons who receive passports on a process that is incomplete, what is to happen to those?"

Gordon Wade
"Those can be revoked."