Senate Inquiry Probes Portico Enterprises Agreement: PM Briceno Questions Necessity of Cabinet Attendance

While the JPAC is probing into the finances of the public purse, the senate inquiry continues to investigate the controversial definitive agreement granted to Portico Enterprises. The group is looking at the genesis of the agreement between the Barrow administration and businessman David Gegg. This month, the proceeding began in Belmopan with the questioning of several former United Democratic Party ministers. But will the Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues attend if they are called? He says it doesn’t seem necessary to him.  

Hon. John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “It depends on what is it that they want but I will repeat again there is nothing to answer. I don’t know what we can tell them. We’ve been very open, we’ve been very clear. Our government got the agreement, it was already signed. I took it to Cabinet which is what I’m compelled to do and fifteen minutes later I said listen we can’t proceed with this and it ended there. There’s nothing for us to and the Cabinet Secretary has already written to the commission stating that.”

The agreement was signed by former UDP Minister Erwin Contreras days before the 2020 elections.