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What did she know and when did she know it? That’s the question being put to Zenaida Moya tonight about the with-holding of $375,000 in workers’ Social Security deductions at City Hall. She says she found out on Monday; her Director of Finance backs that up; but the Human Resources Manager Mayor Moya fired Christine Perriot says the Mayor knew in August. Today, another former employee, one time City Administrator Englebert Perrera says the mayor did know about the social security situation in august, because he told her. Today, he showed us the proof.

Keith Swift Reporting,
This is what Mayor Zenaida Moya told us yesterday.

Zenaida Moya, Mayor of Belize City
“I will tell you outright that until when they had spoken to me about it in an interview that is when I found out.”

But her former city administrator Englebert Perrera disputes that.

Englebert Perrera, Former City Administrator
“That is wrong. The Mayor knew about the Social Security arrears. Social Security called the Director Finance Dwain Davis about it. He then informed me about it. I then called the Mayor personally about it and informed her about it. And not just informing her but advising her that we will be having a meeting with Social Security to discuss how we will be making the payments.”

And Perrera says he has proof. He provided us with a copy of this email dated 4th of August 2008 which he sent to Mayor Moya – and all ten councillors – in which provided a forecast of when the council would be able to pay the arrears to the Social Security Board.

Englebert Perrera,
“I have it in black and white. This is not Englebert is saying something and Davis is saying something and the Mayor is saying something. This email is proof that I sent it to the council and the attachment with the forecast, I got that forecast from the Financial Director which is Dwain Davis. He gave it to me. When I spoke to him I told him I wanted a forecast and this was in early August I gave it to them. And in the forecast, it gives you the time frame when we would be paying Social Security. They all got it. The Mayor is just running away from the issue and pointing fingers and blaming others.”

Keith Swift,
What was her reaction when you told her?

Englebert Perrera,
“Her reaction was that we just do what we have to do because we have to pay Social Security, yes, but there was no money at the time. The Council was not in a financial position to pay Social Security nor Income Tax at the time and she knew about it.

As the Mayor if she got the email. It is here. It is here in black and white – that speaks for itself. It is just like the check that you saw in Belize Times, it speaks for itself.”

Keith Swift,
But after you told the Mayor in the email in August that the Social Security was not being paid and something needed to be done about it and she said to do what you had to do – why then didn’t you go to the individual councillors?

Englebert Perrera,
“I sent an email to the entire council. I have it right here. The entire council knew about the situation. I just spoke to Hyacinth before I came here and Hyacinth agreed that I did send the email to them. I informed them, that is my job, that is my duty and that is what I did. The council was just not in a financial position to pay it, plain and simple. Now if you ask the question how the council got in that financial position then you have to check the pilot – she is the Mayor. But I have no axe to grind. I wouldn’t be here today if the Mayor didn’t mention my name last night. When I heard on the news I was surprised, especially when she brought up the Bible. I am sorry for her.”

Perrera also claims that the mayor wasn’t paying her personal income tax. We were unable to reach Mayor Moya for comment but the City Council this afternoon sent out a release in which it describes Perrera as a “disgruntled former employee” who is making quote “libellous and malicious allegations.” But what the release doesn’t do is deny those allegations. In fact in it – the council concedes that quote: “Social Security payments have always been irregular.” It ends by stating that the Mayor “will no longer respond to these libellous and malicious allegations.”