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House gets off to a serious start!

GeneralHouse gets off to a serious start!
Even as a former member of the House of Representatives was being arraigned after 10:00 on Friday morning in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on criminal charges over a dubious land transaction last June, it was business as usual inside the National Assembly, where the new administration held the first productive session since the change of Government on February 8, 2008.
 
This time, the United Democratic Party (UDP) is running things in the 31-member House, while the People’s United Party (PUP) is relegated to being a very small minority of 6. One key member, former Prime Minister and former Opposition Leader, Said Musa – who is being investigated for possible criminal charges with respect to the diversion of $40 million in public funds to the Belize Bank just before his term expired – was conspicuously absent. He is reportedly out of the country.
 
Over the course of today’s proceedings, presided over by Speaker Emil Arguelles, there were several constitutional amendments brought before the House, for their introduction – the most controversial one addressing preventative detention. While it appears that white-collar crime has become rampant in today’s Belize, more and more the criminals are owning the streets and taking the lives of young men at a rate of one in every three to four days.
 
All indications are that the blame is being cast on “gang-bangers,” many of whom, incidentally, flaunt some of the same red and blue colors that are symbolic marks of the two major political parties.
 
And while some are concerned that the street gangs are being influenced, in part, by some key politicians and highly influential businesspeople, the concern today is whether the very law – and in particular new amendments – will be used to terrorize the innocent more so than the villains who really need to be kept in check, and whether the police will deviously use the law intended to protect law-abiding citizens to abuse the powers entrusted in them.
 
That single controversial issue is the preventative detention provisions of the 6th Amendment to the Belize Constitution Bill 2008, which many consider an extreme band-aid measure to quelling the heightened crime wave in the City.
 
However, Prime Minister Dean Barrow, who introduced the amendments, pledged to enshrine provisions to protect citizens from unjust detention.
 
Barrow conceded that, “…there have been abuses on the part of the police. I say this without prejudice to the wonderful work that they, by and large, do. But there have been egregious abuses on the part of the police and the fear is that the police would abuse this power. Well, we would make absolutely sure that the power cannot be exercised, except either a civilian majority body orders it or an entirely civilian body orders it.”
 
The amendment would permit a seven-day detention in the first instance, with a maximum detention period of 30 days.
 
The controversial aspect of this provision has to do with the fact that citizens could be detained for extended periods even though the police may have very little evidence to substantiate the need for the detention. Currently, the police must let a detainee go at the 72nd hour if it cannot pin a charge on that person.
 
But in order to extend the detention, said Barrow, “…the police would then have to go to court, to a judge in chambers, and make a compelling case for the judge to make such an order.”
 
He justified the proposals by saying that because we are gripped by a crisis, “extreme measures, extreme responses” are required. As far as we are aware, the issue was not addressed today of whether detention has ever truly proved to be a deterrent to violent crimes.
 
Barrow said that the provision would be used for people suspected of “gang activity,” and murder suspects “where there is no proof” where criminal charges could be levied right away.
 
“The police who wish to detain somebody would have to apply to a three-person committee, comprised possibly of the Commissioner of Police and two others being the president of the Crimes Control Council and a Senator – one of the non-government Senators or their designees.
 
“Another thought is that possibly the Commissioner of Police will have nothing to do with it. He will have to make the application to a three person civilian committee,” the Prime Minister said.
 
He promised that the government would “err on the side of caution” in proceeding with the bill, and if the majority goes against it, or if even a vocal minority stands against it, they would withdraw the proposed preventative detention amendment.
 
The Barrow administration is also looking towards making stronger legal provisions to be able to intercept phone calls and other forms of communications, on the claim that this surveillance scheme would only be used against the hard criminal elements in society.
 
In speaking before the House on Friday, Minister of National Security, Carlos Perdomo, claimed that there is no telephone, e-mail or other type of electronic surveillance being practiced under his Ministry, under which the security forces, including the Police Department, fall.
 
OUTLAWING SECRECY IN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
 
Another very important amendment tabled at today’s House Sitting is a provision to outlaw secrecy in Government contracts. A Freedom of Information Act does exist, but Barrow pointed out that the problem arises with the long list of exemptions.
 
Prime Minister Barrow pointed to the fact that the previous Government had invoked such clauses to refuse public access to documents, including an array of documents that themselves had secrecy clauses.
 
“That was used to hide from the public some nefarious contracts that the last government signed, to hide from the public and indeed to hide from members of the last government’s own Cabinet,” he elaborated.
 
One recently uncovered example he cited is an “accommodation agreement” that Musa’s administration signed with the Belize Telecommunications Limited (now Belize Telemedia Limited). (More details on that in a separate article.)
 
Barrow explained that, “…in this Freedom of Information Amendment Act, we are putting in a clause two which adds a new Section 21.a… prohibiting secrecy provisions in public contracts and other documents.
 
“It further provides that every secrecy provision in a public contract which prohibits or restricts its disclosure to the public, shall be wholly void and of no effect.”
 
SENATE REFORM
 
Under the claim of making his government accountable, Barrow’s administration is also moving ahead with significant reforms to the Senate which will give them unmistakable authority to summon members of the executive, including Ministers and the Prime Minister, requiring them to give an account of their stewardship. Additionally, Chief Executive Officers and Heads of Departments will all have to account to the Senate on the way they are running their departments and Ministries.
 
“This is a fundamental change…a wonderful move on the part of this new administration to introduce and enshrine a clear system of accountability by the executive to the Senate of this country, controlled not by the ruling party,” commented Barrow.
 
REFERENDUM
 
Currently, only the members of the National Assembly can call a referendum by way of a resolution passed by a majority in the House, but the new administration says it wants to share that power with the electorate, who put them in office. As the proposal now stands, 10% of the electorate would be able to call a referendum, which means that at least 15,699 people would need to be on board, via a petition, to call a national referendum, since there are 156,993 electors on the register. The Governor-General would then proceed to issue a writ of referendum on the particular issue, Barrow explained.
 
It is noteworthy that a referendum does not have to be national, as was the case of the recent Senate referendum held along with the general elections of February 7, but it could also be called for a particular district or area, as was the case with the Belmopan City referendum of November 1999.
 
The new law would make it clear that a referendum will only be considered binding if (1) at least 60% of the electorate in the country, district or area participates, and (2) if a simple majority agrees or votes “yes.”
 
LIMITS ON ELECTED REPS
 
No longer should the voting population have to sit out 5 years of an administration that has lost sight of its sacred oath of office, through which they swear to “do right” by the people who elected them to power. A proposal was tabled before the House Friday to enable citizens to recall elected representatives to the House.
 
Additionally, a three-term limit on the Office of the Prime Minister has been proposed.
 
We don’t think that many people would argue against these amendments.
 
OPPOSITION QUESTIONS…
 
Today’s House meeting was not without its usual mudslinging, but we will focus, instead, on constructive matters of national importance.
 
PUP Freetown Division area representative, Francis Fonseca, questioned the other side (the UDP) about the termination of workers since the new administration came to office. He asked how many people had lost their jobs. Barrow responded that he could not really say, but furthermore told Fonseca that the firings were justified and a part of the mission of his administration to “clean house.” In justifying the firings, he cited the example of a Mango Creek teacher who, Barrow said, had collected a salary for two years but did not work. Barrow said that Fonseca was the one who had hired him.
 
The issue of the rising cost of living, the cost of telephone, the cost of electricity and the rising cost of fuel at the pumps was raised by Albert Division area representative, Mark Espat.
 
We note that the UDP had promised, before elections, to bring prices down for utility rates, and to reduce the cost of living, overall. At today’s proceedings, PM Barrow gave an extensive statement on the cost of living (which we will address in a separate article).
 
By law, the constitutional amendments cannot be passed before a 90-day window period, during which time the necessary parliamentary debates and public consultations will have to be held. (See section 69.5 of the Belize Constitution, on amendments affecting fundamental rights and freedoms.)
 
The matters will be raised in the House for debate at a subsequent sitting, and they must also go through the Senate for vetting by that arm of the National Assembly.

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