BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC-Opposition Leader Shyne Barrow has described as a “farce” the decision by Prime Minister John Briceño to allow his embattled Minister of Blue Economy and Civil Aviation, Andre Perez, to proceed on leave. At the same time, an investigation will be conducted into the recent allegations against him.
Barrow has questioned why the Belize Police Department has not launched a criminal investigation into the matte instead of the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, who, according to a government statement, “will advise the Prime Minister on whether there has been any actionable wrongdoing” by the minister.
“You see, the problem with credibility is that once you lose it, it’s gone, tough to build back, and this government is not even attempting to do things to restore their credibility. They have zero. So when you tell me that a ministerial colleague of Andre Perez is the person tasked with investigating him, that is absurd, a farce, an insult to the Belizean people,” Barrow told a news conference.
“What we should be talking about is a criminal investigation. When I was accused, nobody said, ‘Oh well…man and wife think that.” No. I was demonized, I was categorized, and I was stigmatized for the rest of my life.
“When you Google my name, those allegations will come up that I was never charged for, never arrested for, and that was retracted, and that my partner came out and endorsed me to be area representative for Mesopotamia and has supported me ever since,” Barrow said.
The Rural South Area representative, Perez, is embroiled in a sex scandal involving a woman attorney who has made allegations against the minister.
Media reports here said a demand is being made for a criminal investigation to be launched, given the graphic descriptions shared by the attorney in her account of what purportedly took place involving Perez.
The government statement said that the “Cabinet is confident that Minister Perez remains committed to and will continue to serve the interests of his constituents in Belize Rural South” and that “in the meantime, the Cabinet respects Minister Perez’s privacy as he and his family work through this difficult situation.”
But Barrow told reporters while the matter gives him and the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) “absolutely no pleasure even to be discussing this very sordid matter,” it nonetheless underscores a fact that the government is “a train wreck, totally out of control, lack of decorum, lack of caliber in the people that got the privilege of administrating our country.
“I pray for the victim, the alleged victim in this case, and the family of Mr. Perez. There is so much wrong that the PUP (People’s United Party) is doing that this is not something I would have cared to be an issue.
“We have crime, we have corruption, we have the cartels taking over the north, cost of living, healthcare facilities, et cetera, et cetera. However, this is not what some people are trying to make it seem to be, downplaying the severity of the accusations. We have to be a fair society,” he added.
Meanwhile, Barrow has challenged the NGO community, as well as the various feminist groups, to come forward and denounce the appalling claims made against Perez.
“I believe that the outrage should be overwhelming from everyone, from the Belize Network of NGOs, from the PUP women parliamentarians, from the PUP Women’s Group, from Senator Chanona, from the Speaker.”
Barrow told reporters that Prime Minister Briceño knew about these allegations months ago and did nothing.
“ And I opine that if the graphic images and text messages and statements were not leaked to the media, the prime minister would have done nothing, would have said nothing,” Barrow told reporters.
and then 