Email

Print

There was an even more emphatic denial from Tracey Taegar Panton.  In a statement, she said, quote, â€œFew things vex…or move me to a point of anger.  The deliberate, vicious, malicious attack on my  character, reputation and integrity merely for political or personal  gain is certainly one of them.â€￾

Today she said it is all made up - and that she never received money from John Saldivar:…

Hon. Tracey Taegar-Panton - Albert Area Rep
"Absolutely categorically unequivocally untrue. I have never met these characters that are now in the court of Utah and I have never had the opportunity to share not even a bank account with my predecessor, the honourable Herman Longsworth. Not for cheap political gain, not because of some cowardly act by someone who wanted to target me for whatever reason will I sit back and allow it to happen. It cannot happen. It will not happen. I will certainly, I can defend my character and I can defend my reputation.â€￾

Reporter
"It wouldn’t be unusual for you to come across, have meetings with an investor. Where there any such meeting with Lev Dermen?"

Hon. Tracey Taegar-Panton
"None at all. We had no interaction and if I did, I would have said it. I would have come out and said that was the case, but Mr. Dermen was certainly not an investor when I took over the date to date operations of the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Commerce. I don’t know if he met with my senior colleague Minister Contreras, but certainly I have never had an opportunity to meet with him or engage with him or to talk investments in Belize with him."

Reporter
"We know that in the UDP among colleagues you have a fraternity, that’s number one. I have met John Saldivar at his office. You know, just a usual thing, inter-colleagues. I’ve interviewed him here in Belize. I’m saying that it is not a crime, nor is it unheard of to accept some help from a colleague. Let’s say you have an event coming up, mother's day, something like this. It is not unusual to say “Boy, assist meâ€￾. Cause we know that, we all have to face it, politics is a money game. Is a cash game. That’s real. So, have you taken assistance from John Saldivar, what wouldn’t be a crime?"

Hon. Tracey Taegar-Panton
"No, I haven’t. It’s not a crime certainly. I have received support from the Belize Business Community. In fact, most of my support in this division comes from the Belize Business Community and so I have never had to go to a colleague to ask for support for anything that we have done in the constituency."

Her statement says, quote, â€œI will take appropriate action and the perpetrators will be held accountable.â€￾