This week he's in court defending government against a heavy constitutional challenge from Jeffrey Prosser, but Elson Kaseke has significant personal and professional worries. After being asked by the Association of Concerned Belizeans to review Kaseke's role in the BELIPO scandal where, as Solicitor General, he was director of a private company that collected public taxes, the Integrity Commission has ruled that Kaseke violated the code of conduct for public officials.
The Integrity Commission found that Kaseke violated section 21 of the Prevention of corruption in public life Act, which restricts public employees from getting contracts with government through private companies. BELIPO, as owner of the Private Companies Registry, was contracted to collect stamp duty for government.
At the time, Kaseke's former boss, and the man who privatized the registry, Minister Godfrey Smith told us that Kaseke was government's representative on the BELIPO board. Kaseke's wife was also running the private registry office. She was terminated after government resumed control of the office.
And while it has rebuked Kaseke, the Integrity Commission concluded that it could find no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Minister Smith or former Minister Eamon Courtenay, who the opposition leader claimed were silent partners in the venture.