Rodwell Ferguson, he's the Minister of Transport, but yesterday he walked away from our camera when we asked him to comment on a report attempting to implicate him in corrupt behavior.
The report is called "A Sequence of Events" and is carefully compiled to make a case that Minister Ferguson has made compromising agreements with bus operators in Guatemala.
We have reviewed the document - and while it makes allegations - it's really all just circumstantial and offers no compelling evidence of wrongdoing. But it does show some extent of insider knowledge.
And, it's out there in the public domain, widely circulated via WhatsApp.
So, with the widening circulation, you might think Ferguson would be eager to defend his good name. But he hasn't responded to a text message asking for comment on the document, and, yesterday at the House Meeting he told our reporter that the opposition would twist his words, so he wouldn't say anything on camera.
He pointed us to his Facebook page where he said that discussions with the owner of Fuente Del Norte bus company in Guatemala started in July and the reason for the meeting was because they wanted to resume their run into Belize that had been established pre-COVID. Ferguson then explains that he told them that would only be possible if the situation was mutually beneficial, meaning that they can bring two buses in Belize and we can take two buses in Flores, Guatemala.
This then led to a meeting with the vice president and the vice minister of transport of Guatemala. Ferguson emphasized that they went by road to the meeting and left as soon as it was over, even though they were offered a tour. He said he held his ground that they would not be able to come into Belize if Belizean buses couldn't cross their borders.
Ferguson then said, quote, "There were no sweetheart deals. Whoever is making mischief, release the recording, it was business as usual." End quote.
He ended by noting that the bus would bring in European tourists and only pick up passengers at the bus terminals who were heading across the border.
