Elected Councilor Double Dipping ?

It may not have any impact or consequences, but Love News understands that there was an elected councilor for Belize City who was double dipping.  The report says that the councilor who is not seeking re-election next week was not only receiving her stipend from the council, but she was also receiving a salary from the public service.  It is a situation that went against regulations of the public service that PSU’s President, Dean Flowers, says is a part of the corruption in government that persists.

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union: “If in fact the officer was a sitting councilor and also held a job in the public service then yes that is breaking the regulations. As a matter of fact the regulations is clear that whenever you want to serve in a political office you must resign from the public service. And if it is that she was elected prior to joining the public service again it was the duty of the Ministry of Public Service and the duty of the Ministry of Finance if it is that that person is an open vote worker but ultimately it was both their responsibility to ensure that the person would have resigned from political office before taking up work in the public service. This is not rocket science.”

In tomorrow’s newscast, we’ll also hear the PSU’s views on the supposed double income of Minister Henry Charles Usher.