At the top of the news – you heard fro the Z-7; and then, you heard from Phillip Willoughby the Deputy Mayor. He seems agreeable to surrendering that post based on a resolution signed by seven councillors. But Mayor Moya is not so agreeable – in fact, she doesn’t even want to hear it. We spoke to her at her office this evening around five – when she called the whole Z-7 blow-up just a load of pettiness.
Jules Vasquez,
“There were three agendas and that the third agenda did not come out of your office until 2:30, half hour after the meeting was supposed to start. They said once they proceeded with it, the resolution by former Deputy Mayor Dion Leslie, they all worked together, Councillor Esquivel Frampton gave up her spot to let him bring that up. They said that when he began to read, you tried to stop him, and that, ‘she would not allow him to read the resolution and you instructed the City Administrator, they say, not to minute it and although 7 councillors endorsed it, the Mayor and the administrator on the Mayor’s instruction left the meeting. How do you respond to that?”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers, Mayor of Belize City
“Listen the law is very clear when it comes to resolutions. They should have brought that to my attention, they should have presented it to the city administrator before hand, there is a specific timeframe, they should have presented that to the city administrator so it could have been tabled properly and be a part of the agenda. So the procedures was not followed. We had a meeting scheduled to be aired live at 7 pm.
This transpired I believe around 2 or three minutes before 7. I am talking about we had a live broadcast meeting that we were supposed to attend and we should have been at for 7. So we had to leave and so the whole point of whatever is said, we had a meeting to attend. They wanted to bring up a resolution, that resolution should have been submitted as per the bylaws, the subsidiary laws of Belize, that is how the resolution should have been submitted.”
Jules Vasquez,
“However, they say there are rules as well for agendas, agendas should be circulated a week in advance when the notice of the meeting goes out and agendas should not go out half hour after the meeting is scheduled to start. How do you respond to that criticism?”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“Very easily. The secretary or whoever is in charge to ensure that they get agenda items would, and it is a practice, it is the norm, that that person would call the respective councillors or email and ask for whatever agenda items. It is the norm that agenda items would not be received into the office or to this particular individual, most of the times, sometimes 5 or ten minutes before. Literally some of them would be over this individual and have this person typing in their agenda items. So for them to deviate from it, it is ridiculous.”
Jules Vasquez,
“After you left with some rancour having erupted at the meeting, seven of them remained and they endorsed a resolution, they passed a resolution. 7 is a quorum.”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“7 did not stay. I believe Councillor Samuels was the last person who stayed in that room so they did not stay. So don’t let them tell you any lie, they did not stay. My office is here, the council room is right over there. I know who stayed and who didn’t stay. My office is right there, see it, it is only a few steps away.”
Jules Vasquez,
“However you had to attend the town meeting.”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“But I will tell you who was the last person, Councillor Samuels because afterwards we went over to the public meeting. So I know who stayed and I know who did not stay and there was nobody staying after that. As a matter of fact you can speak to Councillor Samuels, you can ask him who was the last person.”
Jules Vasquez,
“So then, they have the resolution that they claim they passed at meeting.”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“You hear they said, ‘they claim.’”
Jules Vasquez,
“Fine, ok, you are saying it is invalid but what they are asking for is that…”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“The meeting was moved for adjournment and it was seconded for adjournment and we left. We left for the public council meeting period. We had the 7 o’clock meeting to attend so I just want to ensure that you understand that.”
Jules Vasquez,
“I understand that you are saying it but they have a different view. They are saying that they tried to challenge the adjournment but you run roughshod over them and you insisted on the adjournment.”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“Who is running roughshod? No let’s now be real. Who is running roughshod? Who is running roughshod because I will be frank with you. At the end of the day we call meetings, people are supposed to attend meetings. Look at the attendance sheet and see who is running roughshod. We come to meetings
and we are supposed to attend meetings to ensure there is no roughshod, so that you have a say in what goes on.
Now look at the attendance record and then you will see who is running roughshod, hence the reason why I am very keen and I will say this publicly and I want you to air it Jules, I have moved and I moved again yesterday and I have moved over and over and over again - I would prefer only public council meetings so that the public will know what we are voting on, there will be no behind the door anything – I want the public to know what we are voting on, what is being agreed upon on their behalf. I have nothing to hide, nothing absolutely.
I have remained and I have consistently remained and wanting to be as transparent as I can be but I continue to not be allowed to be transparent. I am continuously voted against when it comes to having public council meetings. What more transparency is there when I am calling that every single decision, when it comes to the council that the people know. That is being transparent and that is being accountable, consistently, but the people don’t know that. But you know what, they are going to know now – let them know that so that they understand who has been roughshod on who.”
Jules Vasquez,
“So what they are asking for is they have a resolution which 7 of them have signed and they are asking you to honour the resolution. The resolution as you may know is for the removal of Mr. Willoughby because they say he was not properly elected because only three people voted for him. Will you observe that resolution?”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“Jules, wasn’t there an election in that meeting whereby 7 people were there? Weren’t there seven people in that meeting? Correct. Two people were duly nominated, one was Leila Peyrefitte and Phillip Willoughby. Didn’t we have a legitimate election? Two people were nominated and they accepted the nomination and election went through and there was quorum, 7 people were at that meeting. Now you tell me, would they have been asking that question if in fact Leila Peyrefitte had won? Would you be interviewing me right now had it been that Leila Peyrefitte had won? Would there have been any reason by them to have any resistance? Now I just feel it is so unfair to Councillor Willoughby.
This man should be happy with his position and this is how they are going to go about it because somebody didn’t get voted on. Now let me tell you, I told you that 7 people were in the meeting and I told you two people were duly nominated and I told you the two people accepted the nomination and I told you that an election was held and I told you that there was somebody who won and someone who lost and I told you that had the other person won, would we have been having this interview? Look at the attendance sheet and then you will see.
People, look and see where we want to go, is it distractions that we are going to continue with. You don’t want distractions. As a matter of fact I will tell you that I don’t think the people are too happy with the council. I know that. I know a lot of them, they are dissatisfied to hear that there are still infighting. As a matter of fact when you listen to the talk show in the morning you will hear as well. You will see Phillip, you will see Wayne Usher, Dean Samuels –you will see these people all the time the work. Let the others do the same, that’s all I have to say. Let the others do the same instead of engaging in this pettiness.”
Jules Vasquez,
“After speaking today about what they claim to be the illegitimate election, which you have disclaimed, they say that in fact what happened at yesterday’s meeting where they say you basically walked out against the wishes of a majority of the members who wanted this resolution to be debated and voted upon, they say that it is only symptomatic of a unilaterism that you practice. They claim that you run this council as if it is your own with due regard for the councillors. Specifically they say you recently signed a MOU, signed on March 15th, it is a benign MOU they say with the Ministry of Natural Resources, but it is indicative of how you conduct affairs. They say contracts have been signed without them knowing, they say the seal of the council was used on a letter with approval of the council as is required by law. How do you answer these criticisms?”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“I would want to know what letter they are talking about but let me just, you have right here the MOU between the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and the Belize City Council. This MOU it states plain and simple that it is an MOU whereby it would be the CEO Ministry of Natural Resources that would be signing along with a witness and the Mayor signing on behalf of the Belize City Council and a witness. The signing of this MOU is not a formal undertaking, see it is right here. It implies that the signatores will strive to reach to the best of their ability the objective stated in the MOU. This MOU is something that the City Administrator and the Valuation Manager have been meeting back and forth with the Ministry of Natural Resource, including the CEO or whoever they go and meet with, to try and come to agreement whereby there is updated information coming from the Ministry of Natural Resources to the Belize City Council as it pertains to land so that we know who owns what so that our property tax roll is up to date.
If they want to discuss things that are signed, man I have a letter here for October 8th 2009 whereby with a particular company, with just a stroke of a pen, the then acting Mayor Dion Leslie, signed off just like that, without even taking it to council, to make payment for $707,000 and not even take this council for us to vote on if and how we will pay it. Also he went ahead and it is noted in here that we will pay the sum of $1.9 million. Now this hasn’t even come to council for us to decide upon and for we to agree. This didn’t come to council. This man signed it, he went ahead, and yes the city Administrator signed it and the individual, the other party. Did this come to council? I want them to show me a minutes of that meeting.
So compare this now with something which is an MOU which is simply information sharing between a Ministry and the municipality. Now you compare these and you tell me who is doing what and who is doing wrong. You tell me this.”
Jules Vasquez,
“Mayor how do we move on from here? So much has been said and…..”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“I hope you include that part. I hope you include it Jules.”
Jules Vasquez,
“It is not me against you Mayor. So much has been said about that they are saying unless you honour their resolution they are going to the Ministry of Local Government to seek what redress they can seek, they don’t want to talk about injunctions or anything like that. But how do we move on, how do we mend because still the voters out there are saying we vote for 11 of unu.”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“My thought on moving on, I will be frank with you – I don’t want to engage in pettiness, I am a very focused individual and maybe that is why they have a problem with me. They a distraction to themselves, I will not allow them to be a distraction to me. I am very focused. I have a job to do. 8,000 plus people voted for me and I thank them for voting for me and I will do a job. I want that we move on and for them to always, when things nuh suit them that they want to run to the media and send out little side things under to say okay she is doing something wrong. No, stop that foolishness right now. If that is the case, my thing is have only public council meetings.”
Jules Vasquez,
“The fact is 7 members of your council, as we call them the Z-7, seven members of your council are at daggers drawn against you, a majority of councillors are standing against you, the council is split. You’re the boss. It is a poor reflection on you, regardless of what personality defects or professional failings you feel these persons have, it is your ship and seven people are trying to break it down.”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“That’s why I feel very happy that 7 then, ok, but then we have councillors that are old councillors, if you may, I don’t want to call them old, and so we old councillors because then I become an old councillor, and then it is us four old councillors, I am glad that we are standing together. The other two old councillors I’ve never had a good relationship with those individuals and the chances of that happening is probably non-existent so that will never and I am not asking for it either.
What I will say though is that some of these individuals, they have their own wants, they have their own motives, and they have their own ambition. Man at the end of the day if we want to go down to later on who will could run as Mayor, let me tell them something – if you want to run as Mayor you will run as Mayor. I will not stop nobody from running as Mayor. I haven’t even told you if I want to run as Mayor. So if you want to use me as a stepping stone to try get some political mileage, you are going down the wrong road.”
Jules Vasquez,
“You didn’t answer my question, how do you move on? This is 7 of your councillors.”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“I have told you.”
Jules Vasquez,
“You said its non-existent with Laura Esquivel Frampton and Leila.”
Zenaida Moya-Flowers,
“Listen to me, that doesn’t mean we can’t work together. I can work with whoever.”
In a series of allegations and counter-allegations, the greatest outstanding issue appears to be whether the resolution was voted on in the council chambers. Councilor Dean Samuels told us he was the last to leave the conference room – and no resolution was voted on – while a member of the Z-7 re-iterated that they did it after Moya walked out.
