Edmund Clear the Land Castro - Minister of State in the Ministry of Works was relieved of his Cabinet post today. A release from the Prime Minister's Office just before noon caught everyone off guard. It said, quote: "The Prime Minister has, with immediate effect, removed Hon. Edmund Castro as a Minister of State."
It continues:
"The decision was taken following a report made to the Prime Minister about an incident involving Hon. Castro. The Prime Minister was satisfied….that the report was substantially accurate; and that Hon. Castro had engaged in behavior inconsistent with the high standards of propriety to which the Prime Minister seeks to hold his ministers."
No details are provided of the so called "incident." But the only conclusion which can be drawn is that Edmund Castro was fired for engaging in corrupt or questionable behavior.
It's a damning blow for any politician, and for Castro - who had taken on such a high profile as an active area representative and public official - it is a very far and very sudden fall from grace.
But when we spoke to him by phone around noon today, he was characteristically upbeat. He told us how he got the news.
Hon. Edmund Castro
"Jules I had a meeting with the PM yesterday, we went over whatever the allegation was."
Jules Vasquez
"Can you speak of what that incident is?"
Hon. Edmund Castro
"Jules I don't think it was to that magnitude and I don't wish to comment on that because I am not seeing it so, but nevertheless we have to move on."
Jules Vasquez
"We have received reports that say that the incident involves a woman, a Belizean American woman who claims that she paid you for a piece of land and never received the piece of land. Is that accurate?"
Hon. Edmund Castro
"That's not entirely accurate Jules, there are some things that dealt with that but the entire story is not quite the way it turned out."
Jules Vasquez
"Do you feel you have been unfairly targeted?"
Hon. Edmund Castro
"No Jules, the Prime Minister can shuffle his cabinet whenever he feels like. I have learned a great deal from him and with his decision I can now go back to the people in Belize Rural North and spend more time with them, so I don't see it as a bad thing, none of us in the cabinet or the government were elected to be a minister of any portfolio, we all were all elected to serve the people and be the area representative."
Jules Vasquez
"At the same time all those things you have achieved have been achieved- a large part of them because you are a minister of state and you are able to corall and access resources from the ministry of works."
Hon. Edmund Castro
"From 2003-2008 I have served the people of Belize Rural North without being an elected member of the house, that was the same drive that propelled us to build that causeway for the people of Crooked Tree."
Castro says he has not been advised on whether he will get to keep his ministerial vehicle. More significantly, his pay will be cut significantly as his salary will revert to that of an area representative which is $37,800 dollars annually, compared to the pay of a Minister Of State which is $54,800 dollars.
The Prime Minister has yet to name a replacement Minister of State - and we are told there are more than a few backbenchers aspiring for that post in the powerful ministry of works.
But all that is just peripheral; the burning question that everyone wants an answer to is: what did Castro do that got him fired from Cabinet?
Well, in the interview, you heard Jules Vasquez go into it briefly - asking Castro about a Belizean American woman who claims Castro swindled her in a land deal.
Since that interview, when only the cursory details of the case were known - we've been digging for more information. We've learned that a Belizean American woman went to the Prime Minister complaining and offering documentary evidence establishing that she had paid Castro just under 50 thousand Belize dollars to privately purchase 20 acres of land from him.
Our information says that an initial amount of ten thousand US dollars was paid in 2009 - and then - she claims - Castro asked for additional amounts to finalize the transaction.
Eventually when no title was forthcoming, the woman who lives in the United States got fed up and took her complaint to a good many people before she finally got to the Prime Minister.
They met this week - and - our sources say - she provided documentary evidence that she had transferred monies from her bank in the United States to Castro. Again, our understanding is that it was a private land purchase - but according to our information, the complainant had not received title - or any document entitling her to any piece of land.
The proof she provided was enough to convince the Prime Minister - who called in Castro and acted decisively to remove him as Minister. Castro becomes the second minister of state to be removed from Cabinet joining Marcel Cardona, while fellow Junior Minister Juan Coy was suspended.
And while the Prime Minister has taken the tough decision - the raw political calculus is another. As Belize Rural North Representative, Castro won by over a thousand votes in the 200 general election - which is unprecedented in a division often decided by fewer than 20 votes. Castro told us he is sure that even without ministerial status he can win the division - it will be left to be seen how much support he gets from his political colleagues in the 18 to 24 months before the next general election.
