Commission of Inquiry sworn in for investigation of government assets sale

Published by BBN Staff at February 1, 2021

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Posted: Monday, February 1, 2021. 2:54 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the sale of government assets, Senior Counsel Andrew Marshalleck, and members Luke Martinez and Marcello Blake, were sworn in today to begin their responsibilities.

A first meeting is pending, but speaking with Breaking Belize News Chairman Marshalleck said witnesses will be required to attend in person, but no public audience will be allowed; the meetings will be live-streamed on social media.

The witnesses will be contacted to appear in public.

Per the terms of reference of the Commission, Marshalleck says he, Blake, and Martinez are “to identify improprieties, irregularities, and wrongdoings,” and make recommendations on same, but implementation is up to the relevant Government departments.

But Marshalleck told us that this and similar inquiries “take too long to make a report,” in his personal observation, citing the recently concluded Senate Special Select Committee on Immigration, which took up to two years to report after public hearings concluded.

The delay in the Senate report meant public sentiment on wrongdoing at the Immigration Department had waned, and Marshalleck says that contributes to public cynicism.

His Commission is tasked to uncover the facts and report on them in a timely manner, the Senior Counsel concluded.

The last such inquiry took place in 2010 and concerned activity at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, but its membership concluded that the standard of full-scale corruption had not been met.

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