Late yesterday, Love News Centre got a copy of a letter that was addressed to the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation, Manuel Heredia and signed by seven of the Belize Tourism Board directors who seemingly came together and made a formal documentation of their votes of no-confidence in BTB's Director, Laura Esquivel Frampton. It indeed came as a surprise but the shocker was when Frampton's resignation was announced earlier today via a press release from the Belize Tourism Board.

For those who are unaware, Frampton is the eldest daughter of former prime minister, Manuel Esquivel and a supporter of the ruling United Democratic Party. In the letter the directors cited several reasons for their votes of no-confidence, stating that the major area of concern is her leadership ability and we quote, "a leader should exhibit character that is beyond reproach, be transparent in their motives and demonstrate integrity as an example for and on behalf of staff and industry partners. Instead, her actions have exhibited a secretive, egotistical philosophy of policy implementation that is directly responsible for the current lack of morale throughout the organization. She has failed to discern leadership from manipulation." End of quote.

But, it didn't end there, as the directors continued by pointing out the current financial management concerns which the letter states, have been limiting the various departments in carrying out their mandate. According to the directors, they have addressed the issue of finance with Frampton on several occasions with requests for further discussion or deep diving into the current financial position but those requests went unanswered. The two page letter ends by saying, quote, "We want to express to you, Minister, that we are fully conscious of the potential political ramifications that this official grievance may pose and we are fully prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder to ensure a process that have the least impact on your position as Minister of Tourism, Culutre and Civil Aviation and the organization. It is our humble opinion that if decisive action is not taken at this time, it will lead to an even worse position at a worst time." End of quote�..

and that pretty much sums up the gist of the letter, dated March 5, 2014. Interestingly enough, an unsigned release, issued today on a Belize Tourism Board letterhead and sent out by the PR Officer for the BTB, announced Frampton's resignation saying that the decision came about due to personal reasons. The release adds that during her tenure, Frampton conducted herself with integrity, genuine concern for the industry and fiscal accountability. It ends by stating that until a new director is appointed, Javier Paredes, one of the signatories on the letter to Minister Heredia and the current Director of Revenue Collection and Registrar of Hotels will serve as interim Director.

LOVEFM