It's official, the Barrow Administration has officially thrown its support behind a Senate Inquiry. A press release issued after Cabinet today says, quote,
"Cabinet is prepared to support a Senate Select Committee rather than a bi-cameral Joint Select Committee inquiry into the Auditor-General's Immigration Special Report."
It continues, quote, "Cabinet has taken this position in view of the reconsideration by the Belize Chamber of Commerce and by the Belize Council of Churches, both of whom were originally in favour of going the bi-cameral route. Cabinet is also persuaded by the fact that a...substantial portion of the public apparently prefers the Senate to conduct the hearings...There is thus no need for Cabinet to insist on…the bi-cameral method."
Now that's progress, and "Cabinet also agrees that one of the Social Partner Senators should chair the Senate Select Committee." But here's where it gets tricky, because Cabinet wants the Select Committee to, quote, "reflect the balance of power in the Chamber" - that means a UDP majority, or in this case, three UDP's, three social partners and one opposition representative - with the chair to come from the social partners.
Cabinet says this formula comes from the Council of Churches and the Belize Association of Evangelical Christians who suggested the 3, 3, 1 composition.
That release went out a short while after today's Cabinet meeting adjourned and when he was leaving the meeting, UDP Party Whip Michael Finnegan told us that he doesn't know what all the fuss is about a Senate Probe because nothing will come out of it:...
Hon. Michael Finnegan, UDP Area Rep., - Mesopotamia
"A select committee from the House or the Senate or it's just from the Senate alone? TO me it doesn't matter, because nothing will become of it as far as I am concern and these matters they have got to be thawed out properly before you proceed and if you proceed out of spite and out of vindictiveness and political expediency, nothing will become of it like the last one with the Social Security thing with the months and months there. What came out of that? Nada."
Reporter
"Was there a decision amongst the parliamentarians in cabinet that they will now go back to a Senate Select Committee as opposed to a Joint Special Select?"
Hon. Michael Finnegan, UDP Area Rep., - Mesopotamia
"The cabinet has just made a decision on it. But I think it would be right for the matter to be given to the press directly from the cabinet. I think it would be improper for me to just walk out of cabinet and give you a cabinet decision without the matter come from cabinet itself. That's just my view."
Email
Print