The Belize City council held a caucus on Tuesday September 22 to make a decision on three employees who the audit of the council’s finances directly links to the irregularities at the Belize City Council. The caucus of the council consisted of nine of the eleven councilors, and at the end of it, a decision was taken to suspend the Financial Director at the council, Duane Davis, for six weeks without pay. Kiran Bhudrani who once worked in the Finance Department was also suspended for four
weeks and Phillip Henry was suspended for two weeks.
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In speaking with Deputy Mayor Dion Leslie, he explained to the Guardian that the decision to suspend rather than to terminate the employees is to ensure that the employees have due process and natural justice. A final decision on the fate of the employees will be taken after the Director of Public Prosecutions has levied charges. The council however, says Leslie, reserves the right to further suspend the employees or to terminate their service with the council.Â
The DPP is in the process of preparing charges; however, up to press time there is no indication of who will be charged and for what. The Prime Minister has indicated that those charges may extend beyond the breach of the City Council Act and may include other charges including fraud.
