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Cabinet held its
first regular session for the 2003-2008 term of office on Tuesday, March
11th, 2003.The Office
of the Prime Minister submitted the following items for public
information:
The Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of
State were administered the Oath of Secrecy and each signed a Memorandum
of Understanding committing themselves to uphold a Code of Conduct during
their tenure as members of the Cabinet. The Code requires Ministers to
consider themselves servants of the people and to act accordingly,
with humility and without
arrogance. Ministers also committed themselves to
abide strictly by the constitutional and legal provisions governing their
performance and behavior in office.They pledged their support to the
Government's commitment to continued political reform, especially as they
apply to accountability, transparency, honesty and people's
participation.
The Prime Minister made a statement to
Cabinet outlining his Government's policy objectives for the next five
years.He urged ministers to regard their offices not as a right,
but as a responsibility, which they must
discharge diligently and honestly, and to act for the people of the
country as a whole.He told ministers to resist all pressures to take
actions that could be interpreted as partisan, victimization or
favoritism.
Dealing with the public perception, during the
previous term, that some ministers and other public officials were
engaged in inappropriate behavior or corruption, the Prime Minister
stated categorically that he meant to abide by the commitment he made in
the early hours of March
6 th when he accepted
the peoples' decision to entrust the PUP with the governance of Belize
for the next five years:We will be tough on corruption and tough on the
causes of corruption.He informed his Cabinet colleagues that he would be
moving quickly to invite Transparency International, the Inter-American
Development Bank and the World Bank to send a team to Belize to assess
the situation, to recommend measures to safeguard against corruption, and
to establish procedures to avoid, monitor, expose, investigate and
prosecute any corrupt acts.
Ministers approved the appointments of Chief Executive
Officers for the following ministries: Finance - Mr. Hugh MacSweaney;
Revenue - Mr. Cresencio Sosa; Home Affairs - Mr. Alan Usher; Natural
Resources - Ms. Patricia Mendoza; Economic Development, Tourism and
Culture - Mr. Deon Pascascio; Works, Transport and Communications - Mr.
Eberto May; Foreign Affairs and Cooperation - Mr. David Gibson;
Housing - Mrs. Sandra Hall; Human Development, Local Government and
Labor - Mr. Roy Cayetano; Agriculture and Fisheries - Mr. Sergio Garcia;
Defense and National Emergency Management - Mr. Anthony Sylvester; and
Health - Mr. Henry Anderson.
On March
18th, the Government
Press Office released the following additional government appointments.
Chief Executive Officers: Ministry of Public Service - Ms. Margaret
Ventura; Ministry of Education - Ms. Marian McNab; and Ministry of
Foreign Investment and Trade - Mr. Jose Alpuche.
The Prime Minister's Office also announced the
appointment of Mr. Dickie Bradley as Special Advisor in the Office of the
Prime Minister. Mr. Bradley will be giving special emphasis to issues
relating to urban youth and Southside Belize City.
Cabinet considered chairmanships and members of the
government side for the House of Representative Standing Committees.
Appointments will be made at the first regular sitting of the House of
Representatives. Cabinet agreed to hold the ceremonial opening of the
National Assembly on Friday, April 4, 2003 in Belmopan.
The next regular Cabinet meeting is scheduled for
Tuesday, March 25 th,
2003.
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