He was the most senior administrator of the country's national security but Home Affairs CEO Allan Usher has left the public service. Usher has the singular distinction of having served in senior security posts under George Price, Manuel Esquivel, Dean Barrow, Jorge Espat, Max Samuels and Ralph Fonseca. It's a long and storied list, but it reached its terminus at Fonseca with whom usher has worked since August of 2002. So why did Usher leave his post and did Fonseca force him out? That's what we asked him at his new job working as the Chief Operating Officer at Maya Airways.
Allan Usher, Former CEO
"Obviously I anticipated the end of my three year contract from the time I signed it and decided that this was the time to leave the public service."
Jules Vasquez,
Its not that you were forced out of office because of differences you may have had with the Minister of Home Affairs?
Allan Usher,
"Absolutely not. Well the question is worded in such a way that a yes or a no would mean either depending on which part of the question I am answering. Quite categorically, I chose to leave the public service, I am still a young man, I'm only 49 years old, I did 33 years in the public service, most of it in the military. I thought having that amount of time into basically the security of Belize, that it was time for me to move off into the private sector and in effect experience another career.
The people that are serving today in the system are smarter, more educated, they have quite a lot of experience, every single one of them would have done at least one of the courses that I have done; every single one of them would have had similar experience to me and I am still here. I haven't left Belize. I am still here, still working for Belize. The private sector contributes quite considerably to the economic well being of Belize so in a way I'm still working for the national security of Belize by contributing all my training and all my experience into the private sector, in this case one of our local airlines, the oldest local airline, for which I've been given responsibility for certain parts of that airline."
Usher says he handed the Home Affairs portfolio to long time Fonseca CEO Cresencio Sosa who, as we understand it, will retain the post.
