In those leaked minutes of the meeting between the Prime Minister and the NTUCB, there are indications that the Prime Minister is not willing to concede to several of their demands. Those include the NTUCB's call for a restructuring of the Public Accounts Committee and the Integrity Commission.
The Unions say that these bodies will never be able to fully police public spending by the Government of the day if they continue to be dominated by the ruling party.
Those minutes say, quote, "[The] PM was adamant that he will not consider any change to the composition of the PAC. [The] PM does not have a problem with the current functioning of the PAC in fact he stated that he is pleased with the performance of the members of the United Democratic Party who sit on the PAC."
Here's what Senator Elena Smith had to say about that:
Reporter
"What do you say when the Prime Minister reports to the NTUCB that he is absolutely not going to contemplate any reorganization of the composition of the Public Accounts Committee, which is one of the major oversight bodies that Belize has."
Hon. Elena Smith - Labour Senator
"You say nothing is what you do. You strategize. That's all you do. That's the best response, Marisol. If you get to a point where you are saying that listen, I am not going to move on, you are acting in a stubborn way."
"Then, it matters not what I say to you, you will remain with that position. So then, all I have to do now is to strategize to see what I need to do to move that or shift that position. And so, the NTUCB must now meet, strategize, and see what will be next."
Jules Vasquez
"I saw the minutes refer to the majoritarian principle, and that principle is he or she who has the majority rules. And they must have the majority in everything. Do, you all, as Senators, agree with that principle?"
Hon. Elena Smith
"We certainly don't. From the time that we put the position out that we wanted it to be changed, the composition to be changed, it meant that we don't agree. We feel that not because you have the majority in government, you must be the majority on these boards. These committees are very important. They play an important role, and these committees should be independent so that they can carry out the work that they ought to be carrying out. If it is that you want to have the majority, then these committees will not be independent. Obviously, they will be working to suit whoever is in power."
Hon. Mark Lizarraga - Business Senator
"I think the social partners have had a lot of history when it comes to this particular matter. We don't believe in the principle that you should police yourself. That, in effect, is what we have today, and the Government refuses to move from that. They're very guarded in that regard. They don't want oversight. They don't want independent accountability."
"We think the system is broken and needs to be fixed."
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