2 weeks ago, the Public Service Union made the evening news - insisting that whichever party wins the election tomorrow, the union isn't going to sit idly by and watch the new administration send home its members in a superficial attempt at cost-cutting.
Tonight, the PSU is back in the news because they are calling out the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Department of Lands for supposedly dragging its feet on giving them title to the property which the Belmopan City Council designated for their new headquarters.
As viewers will remember, on July 8th, 2020 both the Public Service Union and the Belmopan City Council held a joint press conference to announce that they had resolved their quarrel over the PSU's former Hilltop Headquarters.
In order for the two sides to shake hands and walk away as friends, Mayor Belisle and the Council agreed to provide them with an alternative piece of land in Belmopan, which the PSU gladly accepted. From the PSU president's perspective, it was an offer they couldn't refuse because they were getting a lot of added value for this new property.
Realizing that the processes at the Lands Department are often painfully slow, we asked the Mayor how quickly this land transaction would be completed, and when the PSU would get their title document. Here's what he had to say back in July:
Khalid Belisle
"The agreement that we just signed actually states that immediately upon signing we commence the process of survey. I will disclose to you that we've already started the survey even before the signing today, so that's already under way. We expect that to be submitted to the ministry of natural resources if not by the end of this week, certainly next week and I will actually tell you we are hoping to lean on our friends at the Public Service Union to get that paper work processed as quickly as possible considering its their membership that works at that department anyway, we are hoping to deliver title to them sometime within a month."
This evening, the PSU sent out a press release calling out the Lands Department and the Ministry of Natural Resources because they say that the Council made all the necessary submissions for the property to be transferred to the PSU almost 5 months ago.
Their statement says, quote, "…The Ministry of Natural Resources is playing politics with the PSU and dragging its feet in transferring the newly agreed-upon piece of property…"
Their statement also adds, quote, "The PSU cautions any incoming administration that after Wednesday election, there is an urgent need for a complete overhaul in management of the Ministry of Natural Resources…". End quote.
The PSU also takes a parting shot at the Auditor General to issue the audit report on the Ministry of Natural Resources, that has been, quote, "sitting on her desk for umpteen years with purportedly no effort on her part to ensure [that] the audit report is finalized and issued", End quote.
