The PUP bunch was at it again this week when they made their way to Belmopan to make a presentation to the Clerk of the National Assembly of some kind of declaration. PUP leader, Francis Fonseca, made the declaration and it basically stated that they stood in support of Julius Espat’s laziness at not wanting to do the work as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. It then ended saying that they would change the PAC within the first 100 days if they are ever elected to office. And that was a promise.
Well experience will tell anyone that when the People’s United Party makes any kind of promise it would stand a better chance for it to be accomplished if it was written on a block of ice and put outside on an Easter Weekend. They are not known to fulfill their promises. Many will recall the Southside Promise that they made in 1998 before getting elected to office. All 10 Belize City PUP standard bearers signed it at the time and not a single one of them delivered on the promises. So that is that as it relates to PUP promises.
But more than just a promise, we are certain that the so-called declaration which the PUP took to Belmopan on Tuesday, August 27th, was just a diversionary stunt to distract Belizeans from the fact that Julius Espat as the Chairman of the PAC does not want that body to meet. And the explanation is simple.
On this occasion we will give you a single of multiple examples as to why the PUP don’t want the PAC to meet. The Auditor General has submitted a report for April 2009 to March 2010 in it what appears to be a major Fuel Racket is exposed. In the report the Auditor General examined the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries between the period of January 1, 2000 to June 30th, 2009 and it found glaring discrepancies as it relates to the dispensing of fuel to a vehicle which was assigned to, at the time, Minister of Agriculture Mike Espat. The audit notes that the minister would fill up and sign for fuel at Buca Shell, Shell One Stop and King’s Toledo between May 2005 and April 2006. It is not something that is out of the ordinary for ministers to fill up at these gas stations. What is unusual however is that at the time the vehicle assigned to Espat was a 2003 Toyota Land Cruiser CY B-1485 which had a diesel carrying capacity of 25.4 gallons and was on 46 occasions fueled up with up to 49.4 gallons of diesel. The audit concluded: “Audit could not determine how and why so much fuel was needed/utilized by the said vehicle.”
There is no telling how many other ministries this kind of practice took place during the PUP tenure but it is quite clear that all the noise that the PUP is making about the PAC is to avoid the committee from looking further into these kinds of irregularities. What we at The Guardian are certain of is that when the PAC sits, with or without Rodwell Ferguson and Julius Espat, more of these revelations will be made. That is the reason why they don’t want the sittings to take place.
