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“I feel like Julius Caesar surrounded by 5 Brutus”— Mayor Palacio

Highlights“I feel like Julius Caesar surrounded by 5 Brutus”— Mayor Palacio

BELMOPAN, Fri. Jan. 21, 2022– City of Belmopan mayor Sheran ‘Sharon’ Palacio took to Plus TV’s Rise and Shine morning show last week to address recent allegations made against her by five of her councilors. Those allegations, revealed in a leaked letter signed by the councilors, include mismanagement of funds, lack of transparency, and failure to act in accordance with the Belmopan City Act. Palacio told Rise and Shine host Fem Cruz that since the issue between her and her councillors has now been made public, she would gladly speak on it. In response to the allegations, she had the following to say:

“To say that I’m disappointed—I am. I am not shocked, because when it comes to people and their behaviour, you sometimes don’t know what to expect. I think that the approach that they used, I would look at it as sabotage, because I had no idea. Can you imagine? I actually read, just like everybody else, and I heard just like everybody else.”

She pointed out that of all the allegations, the one that stood out to her most was the claim that she handled donation money without first consulting the councilors. The Mayor stated that the councilors are just as guilty. She noted two instances in which they undertook projects without reporting anything to her. One was the Father of the Nation 8K Run held this month and the other was a Christmas event on Ring Road which she knew nothing about until the event was taking place.

“Each and every one of them are out there soliciting funds, doing projects, despite me asking them for us to work on our plan,” she said.

Mayor Palacio has also admonished the media, specifically Love FM, about what she calls “irresponsible journalism.” According to her, the media house failed to reach out to her for comment before reporting on the issue. According to Love FM, however, they did request an interview with her. Mayor Palacio has since taken to social media to voice her discontent both with the media and with her five councillors—or her five Brutuses, as she referred to them.

“Again I publicly condemn the approach used by my councillors. I maintain that my Deputy is the ring leader, and when the truth is told, this entire nation will tremble,” she stated in a Facebook post on Friday.

Mayor Palacio has also stated that she may have been too lenient with her councilors, noting that she was often very tolerant of what she calls their discrepancies. She maintains that almost all of the allegations made against her are false and might be a result of the councilors’ malcontent over some structural changes she made at the Belmopan City Council recently.

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