The former director of the National Sports Council, Ian Jones, is taking legal action against the Government of Belize, specifically the Minister of Sports and the National Sports Council. Through his attorney, Orson Elrington, Jones in a letter dated January 25th, 2021, has written to the Attorney General and the two other institutions claiming that the Government has breached his contract by wrongfully terminating him.
The letter states that “on or about the 20th of November, 2020 you held a meeting with him in which you informed him that he was being terminated from his post as the Director of the National Sports Council. You informed him that this was being done because of his political opinions.”
The termination however comes despite the fact that Jones had a valid contract that was to run until May 2022. With that, Jones attorney is now claiming “wrongful termination, a breach of contract, and a breach of the constitutional rights of my client. We are therefore demanding $186,115 dollars as payment for salary and gratuity for the full remaining two years of his contract, and damages for breach of his constitutional rights.”
Attorney for Jones says he is awaiting a response from the Minister of Sports and the National Sports Council. Jones does not shy away from being a member of the UDP; however, he sees his termination as outright political discrimination.
