In late May and early June, the CEO of the Port of Belize Ted Peralta wrote a number of letters to the Ombudsman and the Contractor General asking them to urgently investigate former Minister Erwin Contreras for corruption and wrongdoing in signing the definitive agreement.
Well, both those offices have answered - and both have confirmed that they will investigate the former UDP Minister of Economic Development, Investment and Trade.
The first to answer was the ombudsman on 11th August. In a letter that is full of high sentence, he pronounces, quote, "(the) Ombudsman is of the opinion that the alleged unlawful actions of Former Minister Erwin Contreras in signing the Definitive Agreement without authority, which is supported by the public declarations of the Former Government Officials of the Government of Belize, may have constituted an act of maladministration. This being the case, the Ombudsman... in his absolute discretion…has determined that the alleged action of Former Minister Erwin Contreras in signing the Definitive Agreement, allegedly without authority, may have abused his office thereby injuring the public interest.
…..Therefore, the Ombudsman will proceed….to investigate this matter on his own initiative." End quote.
And, in a letter dated August 16th, the contractor general - in language that is slightly less grand - tells Peralta, quote, "it is within the purview of the Contractor General...to independently initiate an investigation….this investigation aims to explore the potential existence of activities that might constitute violation of law, rules, or regulations; or mismanagement, gross waste of funds, fraud, corruption, or other impropriety relating to the award of contract."
