7 News Belize

Hon. Elrington Says Cabinet Shuffle Is About Improving Services
posted (June 13, 2018)

Last night, we told you how the Prime Minister has chosen Hugo Patt as his 4th Minister of Natural Resources in less than 3 years.

Patt will replace Prime Minister Barrow as the former Minister of Natural Resources. The PM held the post only in name, and he left the day to day operations of the Ministry to Minister of State Dr. Carla Barnett, who's also being reassigned to the Ministry of Labour, Local Government and Rural Development.

Her sudden departure from that Ministry has some questioning the PM's decision. Is he bowing to political pressure from within his Cabinet?

We got a chance to ask about two of his Cabinet Ministers today about the reshuffle. We start first with Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington, who said that the Government is trying to improve services at the Ministry of Natural Resources. We challenged him on that, and here's how he responded:

Daniel Ortiz
"Dr. Carla Barnett, who from all appearances is a very seasoned and intelligent and particularly honest individual in a place that the prime minister has described a hot bed of corruption. Why move somebody like that, what is the wisdom in trying to move somebody like that when you're trying to clean up an area or a part of the government service that is perceived as dishonest?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington - Cabinet Minister
"The move of Carla Barnett doesn't reflect in my view on her honest at all. It is that there - notwithstanding the fact that she is there, there are continuing cries that people are not being served and politicians respond to that, politicians respond to that whether it is the prime minister or the ordinary politician, we respond to pressure from the people because we answer to the people. So if the people are saying look we're still not getting the service we want, can't you do anything? I think it is under those circumstances the prime minister said let me try again. It's really an effort to try to appease, or please the populous especially at this time when people are desperate to try and get their titles."

Daniel Ortiz
"Can you assure us that particular pressure you speak of is coming from honest citizens and not persons who want to weaken the lands department by getting somebody who can bow further to this type of pressure, to weaken that?"

Hon. Wilfred Elrington
"The prime minister is like me, we are authorities and we know the difficulties. Really and truly I would like to suggest that maybe for most of attorneys, for a great deal of attorneys business that has to with lands is perhaps one of the largest income earner for any law practice. We due to a large extend with the earning that we get from land transactions but when you have documents in the ministry of lands department, for years I not too long ago had a foreign client who said look Mr. Elrington I am being threatened to be sued because of the length of time it is taking for me to get titles for people I have done real estate transactions with. So it is that kind of pressure, it's coming from legitimate bonafide people."

Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us

7 News Belize