Tomorrow in Belmopan the Senate Special Select Committee will re-convene and they will call two former high powered ministers from the Barrow Administration, Hugo Patt and Erwin Contreras.
Contreras, as the former minister of Economic Development, Trade and Investment - signed the Definitive Agreement, and Patt, as former Minister of Natural Resources, signed off on 17 private land transfers that became the Portico properties.
The land transfers - all of them for 50 acres - were all approved one week before the 2020 general elections. They drew a lot of scrutiny for a number of reasons, not least of which is that the approved sale price for the parcels were all under 20,000 thousand dollars - which meant they would not attract stamp duty.
That would seem to suggest former Minister Patt has some answering to do - but today his party leader said Patt will say nothing:
Jules Vasquez
"He will speak about those transactions he approved, private land, but that he approved on November the 04th."
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"He will speak about nothing because the terms of reference for the Senate inquiry makes absolutely no mention of any land transactions. If the Briceno administration want to talk about land transactions that were conducted by the honorable member from Corozal North, then they could convene a commission of inquiry and take the risks that they won't lose in a court of law if they don't convene it properly."
"But the Senate inquiry they are abusing or attempting to abuse their terms of reference and tomorrow I have advised, certainly, my deputy to not answer anything. Obviously he has to show up because you have to respect the summons. But I have advised him not to answer anything and I believe his lawyer will advise him as such. I can't speak for him."
"Again, I this is my advice to him. I wouldn't even say my name if I went there. Because they have that is an abuse. That is an abuse of, that is an abuse of power. The definitive agreement makes no mention of any land that the government has to give in order to consummate the definitive agreement. Hugo Patt was not a member of any cabinet subcommittee dealing with this matter. Hugo Patt has no knowledge of this definitive agreement."
To hear what he really has to say we will have live coverage of tomorrow's hearing starting at 10:00 am.
