BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Dec. 3, 2020– In an internal memo circulated by the Minister of Education, the announcement was made that Dr. Carol Babb’s “term of office as Chief Education Officer has come to an end.”
This short memo, signed by the CEO of the Ministry of Education, thanked Dr. Babb for her years of service and extended well wishes to her.
But what is the true nature of the ending of her service at the Ministry of Education?
Some media sources say that she has resigned; others are saying that she was “sent home”.
The fact is that Dr. Babb has worked closely with former Minister of Education Patrick Faber for many years. The two shared a special student-teacher relationship.
The highly qualified Dr. Babb held the post of Deputy Chief Education Officer from about 2008 to 2015, when she was appointed Chief Education Officer. She has served in that capacity for five years, up until her departure from the Ministry on December 2.
Recently, both Minister of the Blue Economy, Andre Perez, and Minister of Education, Francis Fonseca, made public comments about contracts issued to UDP operatives before the 2020 general elections. The Ministers said that those “cronies” are still within government and are armed with legally binding contracts.
The termination of these contracts or dismissals of those persons can cause the new PUP government to be overwhelmed by a floodgate of wrongful termination lawsuits, so these UDP supporters are being asked to willingly leave those ministries, a request that has been met with strong opposition.
“Right now, in my department, in my ministry, I am already preparing all those contracts that will be submitted to the Attorney General for review and advice, and we must act accordingly and very carefully, so I don’t want to be sending off people who are not doing anything, and they sue us back and then our taxpayers’ dollars will have to compensate them. My friends, these people don’t really care,” Minister of the Blue Economy and Civil Aviation, Andre Perez, said.
In an interview with local media, the Minister of Education, Francis Fonseca, said, “There are issues like that in the Ministry of Education, where contracts were given out months before, in some cases, weeks before the elections, and many other types of contracts.”
Fonseca added that “Activist UDPs are in ministries, and we certainly welcome everyone who wants to work with the government, if they are going to do so in a professional capacity. We welcome their contribution to the work of the new government, but we will not allow anyone to undermine the work of our government.”
We reached out to Dr. Babb via telephone and text to get a direct comment as to the nature of her departure from the Ministry, but received no reply.