Senator Hulse, who chaired the Committee and typed the report himself, and Senator Bradley went to some length to underscore just where the members of the board and the general manager had failed to exercise even a modicum of due diligence. Under the securitization programme, Social Security purchased mortgages over $40 million of them from companies associated with Glen Godfrey. Among the most concerning of those mortgages were those for Western Caribbean and Intelco which were mortgaged for $17 million when they were secured with two sham properties. Senators Bradley and Hulse discussed the colossal error in judgment that this represented for the board of directors.
Senator Richard "Dickie" Bradley,
"We are speaking of the sum of $17.8 million as it applies to Data Pro International. We are speaking of the sum of $5 million as it applies to a loan for Aquarius and elsewhere we are speaking of the Western Caribbean Property Limited of $9.8 million. And in the case of ITL, International Telecom, $7.7 million. Those are the mortgages, those are the amounts that we are specifically addressing and focusing our attention on in the course of the investigations and the report. We found that there was not the due diligence that should have been attendant on that mortgage to see that the property value matches the amount of the loans.
Now we ourselves as members of your committee voluntarily, I must say to you, one day while we were here in Belmopan made the decision and we went and visited the properties. One property is 20 minutes away in San Ignacio and another property is perhaps one hour to Belize City and another half an hour or other hour in San Pedro. And we looked at the properties and you don't have to be an attorney or an accountant, you don't have to be a Chief Executive Officer of a National Assembly, to see that if you look at that property, that property isn't valued $7 million."
Senator Godwin Hulse,
"Senator Bradley says the collateral was insufficient and it was an easy task to drive up the road because we did and in fact when we went up there it wasn't so bad but quite frankly when we went to the cayes, for the first time in my life I caught a fit of laughter that I couldn't contain. My stomach was vibrating Mr. President and it wasn't funny. Because I went out there to see all these great developments and I saw some Johnny Filder running on a bare piece of land. It blew me away."
Senator Richard "Dickie" Bradley,
"The same way we could have gone twenty minutes away from Belmopan, we felt that checks could have been made. That is the point I am leading to and that is the reason the committee is of the view that as is contained in the report, that it would have to amount to negligence in that there are those who would have wanted blood, there are those who would have wanted immediately to fire people and do all types of things. There were all types of considerations.
The recommendation in this report is a very serious matter Mr. President. I want to emphasize that for a Senate Committee to spend almost two years looking into every knick and cranny to see what could have gone wrong, to come up with a considered view that it could have been prevented, had the checks been made, had someone driven from Belmopan to San Ignacio right alongside a tower that stands as a monument to the negligence, it could have been prevented."
Senator Godwin Hulse,
"I found it from time to time appalling if not unbelievable how an organization as large as the Social Security, an organization with the caliber of professionals at the Social Security, accountants at their disposal, lawyers on retention, and people who are well qualified could have found themselves in this situation. Indeed Mr. President I still do not have an answer.
And so when we looked at all of this in its entirety, we begun to see a pattern emerging, a disturbing pattern. And when we had persons before us and asked them if they could say to us, 'did you have any instructions from person A or B,' to be direct, Ministers and so forth, the response was always no. Yet we could not understand why when the investment committee, committee on which you sat Mr. President, from time to time signaled caution and signaled caution, and without being presumptuous I would dare to suggest that many times those cautions may have emanated from your esteem self; 'be careful.' Those cautions were tossed to the wind. We have highlighted those in this report, tossed to the wind.
In the case of two specific mortgages, the two that created the maximum problems for the Social Security, you said no. What part of no do you not understand? You said, 'do not get involved.' Not, 'you may get involved, you may consider again.' The Social Security Investment Committee was set up as a high level technical committee with capable people to peruse the applications for investment and direct the board.
Every time it would appear that an issue came surrounding mortgages to be securitized from St. James, the Social Security people dealt with it in what I would term, and you will not find this term in the report, a very nonchalant caviler manner. We all know Mr. President how the Social Security guards its funds. If you are having a baby it is like pulling teeth to get your $300+ or whatever dollars it is.
And these may be there times when Senator Bradley will say, 'Senator Hulse contain your emotions.' But I find it difficult to contain when just over a year and eight months ago I had to sit and stand and accompany an esteemed colleague of mine in the business community, a productive progressive Belizean, the late Alger Bradley of Toucan Match. When I accompanied him to the Appeals Board to try to get his due to pay for his cancer which was eating away at his brain and we failed. We argued the case with tooth and tail before medical professionals and we failed and he died.
The funds he required, perhaps to give him little more life, was late in coming and never came although he was given consequently an ex-gratia payment. But here was a man who contributed from 1981 and when these loans came forward Mr. President, in the flash of a flash, we had $7 million, $9 million-when you in the investment committee said, 'no,' and Mr. President it is a concept I can never reconcile."
And while senators Hulse and Bradley expressed stupefaction at the complete lack of follow up by the board, they also notes that the work of the Special Select Committee was motivated by one central consideration; this must not happen again, even as Senator Hulse fears it is already.
Senator Richard "Dickie" Bradley,
"We will do our part. We are concerned with what is here. More concerned Mr. President because it is easy to say that the horse has gone out of the barn but we are more concerned that this doesn't happen again."
Senator Godwin Hulse,
"I do not want to be here in 2010 so let us correct it now. Let us put in correct things to ensure that the fund henceforth remains in tact. Mr President I must inform the Senate that I was Chairman with the concurrence of my committee members wrote to the current chairman of the Social Security Board with respect to the Sunshine issue saying that we have an investigation underway and you are committed to respect our process. It is not out ambit to delve into the way that has worked by my understanding is it seems to be flowing in the same vein."
Senator Richard "Dickie" Bradley,
"It is not for Senator Hulse or Senator Gomez or Senator the Reverend Moises Cha, it is not for them, it is not for anybody to say, 'you Mr. Citizen go to jail.' We can't behave like some of the more irresponsible elements in this society. We have to abide by the law and let the law take its course."
Senator Godwin Hulse,
"These people we are talking about are our friends. We have worked with these people. We know them. We know their families for this is our Belize, a small place. Mr. President on the eve of our 25th anniversary of our independence we must set a new and higher standard for the nation. We must all in the execution of our duties be cognizant always of our responsibilities in whatever capacity we are serving, whether that be on a board or in the offices doing the day to day work. We must recognize that when we are handling other people's money we must do so with the utmost care and concern when we are entrusted with the responsibility to be the custodians of the people's savings, a savings they must by law make. Then we must ensure that everything is in order.
Eventhough Mr. President, even though I take absolutely no comfort in condemning anyone, and I am guided by the words of the Bible taken from the Gospel of Luke chapter six verse 37, the Good News Bible that I borrowed from Ms. Chan, ' do not judge others and God will not judge you. Do not condemn others and God will not condemn you.' Nevertheless Mr. President, I take solace in the knowledge that I have had the courage to say to my peers, 'you have done us wrong. It is not by what you have done but by what you have failed to do.'"
The Senate meeting concluded after 6:00 this evening. A few minor amendments were proposed and it is believed that the report will be officially released after those are perfected. We'll have more on it when it is released.
