BELMOPAN, Fri. Mar. 18, 2022– On Friday, March 18, NGO senator Janelle Chanona was sworn in as a member of the upper house and was welcomed by her fellow senators. The Senate meeting was just over four hours long, with the swearing in of the 13th senator via the Oath of Allegiance being the first thing on the agenda.
“I will only say thank you very much for the very warm welcome from the entire Senate. And as I have reiterated to those whom I represent, I intend to work very hard to honor their vote of confidence for me in this position. And I am also very minded of all the men and women who agitated for this position, and I give thanks that I am able to be here and represent those in the Belize Network of NGO’s and NGOs on a whole,” remarked the new senator.
After the swearing-in had taken place, President of the Senate, Hon. Carolyn Trench Sandiford briefly noted the significance of yet another woman being added to the Senate, and during Women’s Month no less.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and lead senator for the People’s United Party, Hon. Eamon Courtenay extended a warm welcome to Senator Chanona, expressing his confidence in her after having known and worked with her for quite some time. The PUP senator also added that Senator Chanona has “big shoes to fill”—referencing her father, the first mayor of Belmopan and a former PUP senator, Anthony Chanona.
Lead UDP senator, Hon. Michael Peyrefitte echoed Hon. Courtenay’s welcome, noting that he first met Senator Chanona, whom he referred to as a “rising star within society”, while he was a teacher at SJC Sixth Form, and describing her as “impressive from then”.
“I beam with pride that one of my students can join me in the Senate. And while you may not agree with me, as you often did not agree with me in the classroom, let’s just say we look forward to your contributions. Welcome to the Senate. I’m sure you will make a great addition, and we look forward to discussing the national issues of the day,” said the UDP senator.
Those national issues included the discussion of several bills recently tabled in the House of Representatives, including the General Revenue Supplementary Appropriation Bill, Protection of Witnesses Amendment Bill 2022, and the Fisheries Resources Amendment Bill 2022.
Senator Chanona, who is currently the vice president of OCEANA Belize, rose in support of the Fisheries Resources Amendment Bill, emphasizing its importance in safeguarding not only fisheries resources but the livelihood of those who depend on those resources.
“I cannot tell you enough how often we’ve heard from the fishers—licensed Belizean fishers—lamenting that there is not enough being done to make sure that illegal activity is deterred,” she stated.