And while both sides agreed on that legislation - we take you again to the adjournment, where the PUP's Kareem Musa attacked Prime Minister Barrow for nepotism - shown allegedly with his brother, the attorney Denys Barrow, and his ex wife, attorney Lois Young Barrow.
From there, he tried to suggest a similar connection with the PM's son, Anwar Barrow.
Here's the exchange:
Hon. Kareem Musa, Caribbean Shores
"The issue of nepotism in government and how dangerous it is madam speaker, the prime minister once said in an interview, I don't know if it was channel 5 or 7, that nepotism is not corruption those were his words but I can tell you madam speaker having sat on this side of the house and watched all the transactions that have taken place each and every budget debate that I come to this house and I go to the ministry of finance and I find in their spending, in their expenditures, that little category that says legal and administrative fees every year madam speaker since I have been here it has been $5 million dollars plus in legal and administrative fees. Since 2008 we know that the favorite attorney for the government was Loise Young Barrow, that was the first term government, millions of dollars paid out to the ex-wife of the prime minister madam speaker because after Loise Young Barrow, it was brother Denys, again I have seen wire transfers, I'm not going to table any motion but I have seen wire transfer up to $5 million to brother Denys madam speaker and other family members who are lawyers have benefitted from this administration giving them private legal contracts and I want to disagree with the prime minster when he says that nepotism is not corruption, it absolutely is corruption it has costs us so much money over the years and we see where the PM last week said that he doesn't care who got that contract madam speaker for boledo, he doesn't care, what does that have to do with the price of rice and he said he is not the minster responsible for the lotteries commission but he is, he is the minster of finance madam speaker and all I wanted to say was that and I am not going to call any names madam speaker but his son is affiliated with that company that was awarded that contract and he should have known as the minister of finance. The point madam speaker is that first it was legal fees tens of millions and now its hundreds of millions of dollars in a contract for boledo, this is totally unacceptable madam speaker."
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"When your father made your brother the head of NICH, was that nepotism sir? I didn't see it as nepotism, we didn't complain because your brother is an artist, he is a legitimate artist he clearly is very knowledgeable about culture and arts and so he got that job based on merit. You can't have a situation in which family members of politicians will be excluded from any chance at bidding for public contracts simply because they are family members of people in the government. You have got to look at each case and government, in my view had a duty, going up against the lawyers for the previous owners of BTL, to get the very best,before him, I got my ex-wife who also was known in Belize by even her opponents politically as an excellent lawyer, a first class lawyer, worker bee who always distinguished herself at the bar, those things can't be nepotism. Let me tell you something, I was born at 'Kinel side' so when you want to go low, I can go lower. Never wrestle with a pig you both get dirty but the pig likes it, I refuse to wrestle."
