And finally for our newscast tonight, we have comments from the Public Service Minister on his government's handling of the post of Chief Justice. As we told you, the government has identified a candidate who will take over from former Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin.
She's the Guyanese Jurist, Justice Louise Esther Blenman, and she will take over in an enhanced role. She will be the head of the reformed judiciary that will be called the High Court.
Justice Blenman will replace Acting Chief Justice Michelle Arana, and depending on who you ask, the suggestion is that the Belizean-born jurist was "dissed" by the Briceno Government.
You heard Prime Minister Briceno make the case that she did not apply for the post of Chief Justice of the High Court. So, what does the Minister of Public Service think? This morning, he shared his views with the hosts of Sunup:
Henry Charles Usher - Minister of the Public Service
"There are 3 different sets of regulations commissions. There's the Public Service Commission, there is the Security Services Commission, and then there's the Judicial and Legal Services Commission. The issue that you can't act for more than a year falls under the Public Service Commission. It's not really specified in Judicial Legal Services Commission regulations, but you can say that it should apply, that you should not be acting for so long. So I do feel that there was an unnecessary delay in naming a Chief Justice. However, I have to say that the process was extremely transparent. It wasn't a situation where the Prime Minister or the Attorney General just went out and selected someone and brought them back. There were advertisements done, both in Belize and within the Caribbean. I believe that there were eight applications or so, and then those applications were vetted, not by the Attorney General or the prime minister or any minister in Cabinet, but by senior counsels selected by the Bar Association. So, they did the interviews. They made the recommendation for the Attorney General, who then passed it on to the Prime Minister. So, I am satisfied that the process that was utilized was a fair one, was a transparent one. And certainly, we look forward to the new Chief Justice taking over office. I'm happy to hear that. Madame Justice Arana may be sitting on the Court of Appeals bench. I certainly would look forward to her serving on that bench."
