Quite unusually, Today's senate hearing was short, and it was over by midday. But, if you hear it told by UDP Chairman Alberto August, this investigation needs to end now.
We've shown you how he and his Belizeans Against Courtenay group have consistently been showing up to the Senate Hearings recently. He has his own agenda against PUP Senator Eamon Courtenay, who wasn't present for today's proceedings.
When it was over, he didn't skip a beat when he complained to us that these hearings have been going on for far too long. Here's how he explained why:
Alberto August - UDP Party Chairman
"Daniel this thing has become, has evolved into a total waste of both time and tax payers money. You see the recall this week of the cabinet secretary, man clearly a total waste of time, yesterday was the cabinet meeting, today the cabinet secretary chairs the meeting after cabinet, he was supposed to have been in cabinet discussing the important matters of this country and there he was wasting all his morning in this hearing, it's totally waste of time."
Daniel Ortiz
"Do you have any views specifically to Mr. Rochelle Chan being called on the stand today?"
Alberto August
"Here you are dealing with the hearsay evidence presented by that lady a few weeks ago and basically and that is what happens when you listen to hearsay evidence, he got there and he basically denied everything and there was nothing the committee could have done that's why we are saying that this thing is evolving into a complete waste of time."
Daniel Ortiz
"But sir respectfully it is in the best interest of your party to shut down this senate select committee hearings because your government continues to take embarrassment, do you disagree?"
Alberto August
"I totally disagree with you because in terms I hear people talking about immigration scandal, man where is the scandal involved in this thing, you are involved in corruption when you deprive the government of its rightful revenue, where in this whole scenario has there ever been anything depriving of the government of its revenue?"
Daniel Ortiz
"But sir there is hustling; people are making money off the government service doing things like trying to get money out of Chinese nationals when they ought not to be paying for these services."
Alberto August
"Well then you go and you tell that to the Chinese people that they should not be paying it but for example we all know that these lawyers and these people they provide immigration services for a fee, what is the difference?"
Daniel Ortiz
"The difference is sir..."
Alberto August
"One is a lawyer, one is a lay person."
Daniel Ortiz
"Sir but these particular persons are pretending as though this is a requirement, you have to pay me in order to make I push this forward for you and the audit report has unearthed one CEO's note to his minister at the time that he knows that there is corruption from immigration officers who delay documents moving forward, you have to pay to make that happen."
Alberto August
"Well I agree you in terms of the delaying but you guys are the media, if you are insisting in protecting the applicants then educate them, get out there and educate them, explained to them that you do not need to pay that fee, all you need to do is go into the department and you apply."
So, from August's perspective, there is nothing helpful that has been revealed since last year November when the hearings started. We challenged him on that, and here's how that back and forth went:
Alberto August - UDP Party Chairman
"I hear somebody talking the other day about you know these people have never foot inside of Belize and are given a visa. Man the first time I went to Ghana, I've never been to Ghana but I applied for a visa from Canada, when I went to Canada I applied for a visa through Guatemala, I've never been to Canada. You don't go to a country to get the visa; if you are in the country there is no need for you to have the visa. I hear people talking this craziness about these people have never set foot in Belize and they have gotten their visa. When I wanted my visa for Ghana, I mailed my passport to Canada, when I wanted a visa for Canada; I mailed my passport to Guatemala. I don't go there for a visa."
Daniel Ortiz
"But sir you are a legitimate traveller, these people, there are evidence in the auditor general's report that they pretend to be visitors and a few days, a few weeks, a few months, they get nationality."
Alberto August
"Well I am not aware of that."
Daniel Ortiz
"Sir have you not read the auditor general's report?"
Alberto August
"I have not read that part."
Daniel Ortiz
"Sir are you ignoring specifically those parts?"
Alberto August
"No I haven't read that part of the report."
Daniel Ortiz
"But sir you claim to be someone who's an authoritative figure on what the auditor general's report says."
Alberto August
"If a person gets a nationality without the qualifying factors then of course that is illegal, if that is happening then people need to face the music for that."
Daniel Ortiz
"But sir you are pretending as though none of this has been revealed in the auditor report or in the senate hearing."
Alberto August
"Let's assume it has been revealed right, if nationality, if any kind of Belizean document is given to anybody without going through the proper procedure or illegality then it is wrong, there is not if, ands or buts about that but I am saying, I am made to understand they have 13 more witnesses to call, man this is going to be a waste of tax payer's money. Every time these people travel to Belmopan for this purpose, they collect their travelling allowance, they collect all this money and it is going to go nowhere that is what we've been saying. The chairman of the committee has already indicated that he's ready to put together his report, why are they prolonging this thing? One of the star witnesses this morning was supposed to have been that fellow Chan, ASP Chan, he got there and he made a fool of all of them."
The Senate Hearings continue next week Wednesday.
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