Hon. Boots says Lamb is a contractor paid by Works Ministry, but Lamb says he “has not built a single house in his life”

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Mar. 1, 2018– Two days ago, Kirk Lamb, a former employee of the Port Loyola area representative and Minister of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation, Hon. Anthony “Boots” Martinez, told the media that monies were deposited into his St. John’s Credit Union account and he would withdraw it and hand it over to the minister.

In an interview with reporters yesterday, Wednesday, Minister Martinez disputed Lamb’s assertion, saying that Lamb was hired as a contractor to build low income houses under the Southside Poverty Alleviation Project and that he had signed a contract to do so at the Ministry of Works, Belmopan office.

This morning, however, Lamb called into the KREM WUB morning show and told the show’s host, Mose Hyde, that he was not hired as a contractor and that he had built no houses for Martinez.

Today, the Leader of the Opposition, People’s United Party told the media that Lamb withdrew about $190,000 that was deposited in his account and handed the money over to Martinez. Hon. John Briceño called on Prime Minister Dean Barrow to fire Martinez from his cabinet and to conduct an audit of all the ministries he was responsible for and to present the findings to the House of Representatives. Briceño also urged that the police be given a copy of the audit report for them to hold persons responsible under the law.

“I signed for something, but I never got no contract eena my life to build any house. When the money come in my name, we go da Treasury and I collect it. He deh deh soh di wait, and I give him the money,” Lamb told reporters in an interview this afternoon on Kremandala compound.

In respect to the signing of a document in Belmopan, Lamb added, “I mi think da my house I di sign for.”

Lamb was asked if he could read, and if he had read the contract. Lamb replied that he could read, but he never read the document that he signed in Belmopan.

Amandala asked Lamb about some houses the CEO in the Ministry of Works, Errol Gentle, claimed that he had built in 2015.

“I used to be the caretaker for the building and the security. I never get no contract fu seh build no house,” Lamb stressed.

In addressing the matter of withdrawals from his credit union account, Lamb explained, “When I get the money, I take it to Minister Boots. Since I opened an account and my pay start to go to St. John’s Credit Union, they give you a check and I take it to the bank.” We asked Lamb if he received a portion of the money which came into his account on behalf of Minister Martinez. Lamb admitted to getting “a lee $50 or so.” “I never did get no big money from Mr. Boots,” he said.

Lamb said, “Thousands of dollars came in my name. I would a seh wan $17,000 or $20,000 come in my name, but I noh get nothing out a dem money. I give the money to Boots Martinez. If I noh give him personally, I give his crony.”

Lamb insisted, “I might gone and sign da thing for a contract, but I noh get no contract. I noh play with no money, I give the money to him. My salary used to be $200 per week, and I had a loan at the credit union, so when I get my pay, $50 goes to my loan and $25 to my shares, so I only get $125 to take home.”

Martinez told the media yesterday that he built a house for Lamb and he sold the house. When we asked Lamb about that today, he replied. “Again, he is lying on me. He never gave me a house; he gave me a piece of swamp land behind Jane Usher Boulevard, and I did not want the land, so I sold it.”

Lamb explained the circumstances surrounding his signing of a document in Belmopan.

“A lot of Minister Boots’ cronies signed that day. It’s not only me, you know; you got money passing through other people name,” he said. Lamb said he used to drive a green truck for Minister Boots, and he would go around picking up materials and dropping off the materials to the contractors. “You know weh Minister Boots did to me, he put me in a room and promised me that he would build a house for me, but he never built a house for me.

I just took care of the building that he rented to Lands Department and Department of Human Services,” said Lamb.