It seems the PUP has been on a rampage this week, tearing open government records in search of every granule of corruption that the UDP left in its wake. On Wednesday the focus had been on Former Minister Rene Montero and the road that he allegedly built using Ministry machinery, funds, and personnel.
And today attention turned to Anthony "Boots" Martinez, as the Ministry of Infrastructure, Development, and Housing took back an old and ill-functioning Bitumen Batching Plant from a property located at mile 3 1/2 known to be associated with Martinez.
It seemed like a serious operation complete with an armed guard but when I caught up with former Mister boots he seemed flabbergasted at what he called "lone scenery". Here's how it all went down.
The takebacks continued this morning when as indicated in this Memorandum the Ministry of Infrastructure, development, and housing with the help of the police, removed a Bitumen Batching Plant from a property associated with former Minister of Human development Anthony Boots Martinez. It's yet another put to right move by the PUP one that casts Boots in the same light that earlier this week shone on Rene Montero. But Boots says it's not like that at all.
Anthony "Boots" Martinez, Former Minister
"They can't put me into nothing when I didn't take anything there it was the Ministry that took it there. It's not like I instructed them to bring it there they asked for a favor."
"So we have been helpful and it's not like I ordered a machine to go there, nothing that old bloody machine that they put up there that never did work one day that never did get off of the ground and if you check it that's a 1962 or 1972 machine, that isn't even worth anything, I mean you as the media if you were out there you saw it. A whole lot of scenery on nada, man put it this way you took it up there. It wasn't me who put it out there, you asked permission to put it up there, and it was convenient at the time. So if it had worked we could have, it's a thing that mixed what you put in holes and the like, never did work one day so that lot of scenery that they're coming with."
And indeed this morning as the GI3 stood guard, Bitumen was hoisted onto a truck and there was a bit of scenery. Boots says it's small potatoes and that the new government should have much bigger concerns.
Anthony "Boots" Martinez, Former Minister
"My thing to them, the PUP, you said that any difficulty you have, any difficulty the country has finances whatsoever the case may be, we could solve it. The people gave you the mandate, you must act on the mandate."
"Those minuscule things there that you're looking to peep around in terms of a machine that isn't worth anything. I think even the Mexicans would have given them maybe a little $50 dollars for that for weight, then man you have to be real. No make what seems to be a mole to be a mountain, you have to be real. When you look at it the scenery as I understand it with GSU and this one and that one for one little small machine that belongs to you that you put there, when you read that kinda thing you'd say well what would happen if you needed to pay for storage, you know how much you would need to collect."
It doesn't seem that the former Minister has any intention of sending the Ministry a bill. But he stands by his conclusion on the matter.
Anthony "Boots" Martinez, Former Minister
"You brought it there you should be the one to take it."
And It seems that's just what the Ministry has done.
The Machine was returned to its respective Ministry in Belmopan. Martinez made it clear that he does not own the property; it is owned by a Port Loyola NGO.
