BELIZE CITY, Mon. Oct. 17, 2016–The People’s United Party welcomes the news of the resignation of Gaspar Vega from Cabinet, but yet this is not enough. This news was expected after revelations of the rank corruption in the Ministry of Natural Resources, which resulted in the fraudulent enrichment of his son, Andre Vega.
In fact, the Prime Minister, in his press conference this afternoon, repeatedly called what has occurred a “mistake,” as if the son of the Minister was just erroneously given $400,000 of taxpayer dollars as a result of a “slight” glitch or miscommunication in the Ministry.
The documents leaked from the Ministry have revealed that not only Andre Vega but Sharon Pitts benefitted from no less than institutionalized corruption in the Ministry, a process whereby persons are granted title to land which is already privately owned.
Those persons, then, are “compensated” by the Ministry for that “error,” with hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in certain select cases, much more than that. The documents further reveal that Minister Vega was informed that the land was privately owned, and however, went ahead and approved title first to Pitts, and then to his own son, Andre Vega.
Even now there are many other instances surfacing, which confirm beyond any doubt that Gaspar Vega used his office as Minister of Natural Resources in an improper, highly unethical and illegal manner.
The People’s United Party calls for an immediate criminal investigation into this outrageous corruption at the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Mr. Barrow seems determined to sweep it under the rug like it is something frivolous and insignificant. He seems to believe that by Vega deciding to resign from the Cabinet, it is a done deal and Belizeans should forgive and forget the raping of our systems to misappropriate our taxpayer dollars.
Exactly the same was done for Elvin Penner.
When the Prime Minister speaks about acting out against corruption, as he did again this afternoon, everyone understands that it is nothing other than a sick joke again being played on the Belizean people.