Belize City Mayor, Zenaida Moya-Flowers, has taken on her party leader, Prime Minister Dean Barrow, who handed over the special audit of the Belize City Council for April 2009 to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Moya-Flowers faced criminal charges in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court today—and her reaction to the charges with a constitutional lawsuit filed on Tuesday, a 3-page statement to the media, and an extensive media interview today have seized public attention.
When asked in today’s joint media interview if she feels that Prime Minister Barrow is pursuing a personal vendetta against her, Moya replied: “…somebody doesn’t have any balls, when they are going to come after me when I am on my bed delivering a child.”
Barrow would not directly address that comment, saying that “I won’t sink to that level; I won’t dignify that with a response.”
In Mayor Moya-Flowers’ statement Wednesday, she contended that no criminal information or complaint can be sustained against her, because the charges are “trumped up” and she will be vindicated in the end.
Barrow also said he would not address the matter of Moya-Flowers’ innocence or guilt, saying that one is for the courts to decide. He did go on record to say that this is not about any personal vendetta.
“It has to do with principle,” said Prime Minister Barrow, signaling that he has “no apologies” for Moya-Flowers.
Even though there has been much talk of the recently released special audit, Moya indicated that there have been two audit reports.
A closing meeting was held on June 16, 2009, after the first audit and the Audit Department gave no notice of criminal conduct or corrupt practices – “absolutely none.”
“It seems that people in my own political party did not take me seriously” said Barrow, in reference to declarations he had repeatedly made that he was “deadly serious about not countenancing wrongdoing.”
He told Amandala that the allegations coming out of City Hall of financial mismanagement are the reason why the changes were made to install a financial controller, in the person of Patrick Tillett.
Interestingly, the UDP issued a press release this evening, signaling that Moya-Flowers may be facing more trouble from those inside her own party.
“The party is saddened by the news of charges being brought against one of its elected officials, but remains resolute in its commitment to hold even our own accountable. We expect that those charged will be afforded full opportunity to prove their innocence.”
It ends, however, with a cryptic note that the National Party Council would be meeting this Saturday “to consider the ramifications of the charges and to decide on any further course of action.”
On Tuesday, Mayor Zenaida Moya-Flowers led a Supreme Court action challenging the amendments made to the Belize City Council Act, under which she is being charged, as unconstitutional and violating the Council’s autonomy.
This is the first time we’ve heard of a legal challenge to the amendments made way back in 2008.
Prime Minister Dean Barrow told us that the Supreme Court action is clearly baseless and “doesn’t have a prayer,” because it was procedurally flawed and filed as a claim by the Council, but the Council has disassociated itself from the suit.
Dion Leslie, who told Amandala today that he is still the Acting Mayor, issued a signed statement on Wednesday, September 30, regarding Moya-Flowers’ lawsuit. The statement distances the Belize City Council from Moya-Flowers’ Supreme Court challenge of the changes to the City Council Act, under which Moya is partly being charged.
Barrow said that with the charges levied against Moya-Flowers and three of her staff this week, the reason for putting a financial controller at the council is “completely vindicated.”
“I had heard of things going wrong and as soon as he went in, he found what clearly is a huge irregularity,” he added.
Under the new legislation, Tillett has to approve spending above $50; however, in her statement to the press on Wednesday, Moya called this measure “both impractical and a slap in the face of a duly elected City Council.”
She went on to say that it is the City Administrator, Dr. Kiran Vanjani, and not the Mayor, who is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Belize City Council.
It was the paid agent of the Ministry of Finance, Patrick Tillett, who went to the police, and not the Belize City Council, she added.
Since coming to office in February 2008, the Barrow administration has pressed for criminal charges of ex-Prime Minister, Said Musa, and former Caribbean Shores rep and Minister of Health, Joe Coye, as well as filed a civil misfeasance suit against Coye and former Minister of Lands, Florencio Marin, Sr. – all of the Opposition People’s United Party, but this is the first case where the administration is pressing for prosecution of one of its own political allies.
So far, all the cases have failed. On Tuesday, the Chief Justice, Dr. Abdulai Conteh, dismissed a case that the Attorney General had filed against Coye and Marin, noting that the suit, in his view, could only be levied by private citizens or entities and not the Attorney General, who has the criminal misfeasance proceedings at his disposal.
When we asked Prime Minister Barrow about that today – questioning why his administration chose that avenue of the civil suit to pursue Coye and Marin rather than criminal charges – Barrow said that he does not agree with the additional limit that in his view Dr. Conteh is putting on the tort, and that is why the Government is appealing.