by Colin Hyde

In 1998, a UDP government extended its mandate beyond 5 years to accommodate a redistricting exercise; but by 2010 some adjustments were needed, mainly because the children of New Belizeans who had arrived in droves from the 1980s onwards and settled in the south and west districts, had come of voting age. More than a decade ago, Brother Jerry Enriquez picked up the ball, and when he put it down, the Belize Peace Movement (BPM)—a group of politicians who got tired of competing at the polls in our first-past-the-post system which has seats at the table for only two, the red and the blue—picked it up and got in the mud with it.

The BPM, being politicians, have the mettle, and they were joined by someone from a profession with skin as thick as theirs, a lawyer, Brother Arthur, and off to court they went, their mission to ensure that the necessary redistricting was done before we went to the polls in 2020. But progress was slow, a slog not a jog, and with the incumbent’s term about expired, and the country absolutely listless because of Covid, the court didn’t entertain the BPM’s call for that election to be postponed.

Everyone knows some redistricting has to be done, and after the 2020 election the BPM picked up the ball again, and they really put their pound into it, but didn’t get the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to budge beyond a minor tweak, which didn’t stand a chance in the House. I don’t know that the EBC can be blamed for their feeble effort.

There’s some trouble here for the EBC. It would be a cup of tea if they were to add divisions. But that would be very disappointing, uneconomical, and embarrassing too. Anyone who wants MORE representatives in the House needs to get checked. The UK has a population of 68 million and 650 members in parliament, which works out to 104,600 people per representative. We have a population of 430,000 and 31 area reps, which works out to 13,900 persons per area rep. British people aren’t smarter than we are, and they don’t work harder than we do, so how come their area reps handle more than 7 times the number of people ours do? Please, we doant exist to create honorables.

We’ve had a stalemate on redistricting. The present government has been in office for more than 4/5ths of its allotted mandate, and with the wind for a general election blowing pretty strongly, reenter Jerry a couple weeks ago with a team of three – himself, Rudolph Noralez, and Jessica Tulcey, and a lawyer from T&T, Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan, a human rights activist who is a former AG of that twin island nation.

Brother Ramlogan is the newest lawyer from the Caribbean to jump into the political boil-up in Belize. If you’re wondering what’s with, ehm, them featuring prominently in our politics, that’s very simple. Ah, as Mr. Banks said in Mary Poppins: “a man has dreams of walking with giants.” These guys got fame, conquered on a small island; and you know the spirit of competition, how it can spur one on, until like a bully they meet their kecha. It’s obvious these guys want to test their talents in a mainland country. Personally, I don’t think they’ll make it big here, at least not for a while. The first piedra en el camino for them is the, ehm, size shock. For them coming here, it’s like a Belizean going to New York. At the least it will take, some time.

Clearly, a sensible redistricting would involve reducing the number of area representatives. Clearly, that would be seismic; and on top of that, Henry Charles, that lucky bohga, says our Constitution doesn’t specify how that should be done. Yaa, what exists serves him alright, he representing one of the smallest divisions. There’s an ongoing exercise to reform/improve our Constitution, and that matter should be huge in the discussions.

They, the ones out to postpone the big one, I respect them; their effort is noble, but at this time they won’t get anything from my two cents. I’m with the “call election now” crowd. Yes, I’ve said I want the PUP to win this one. Yes, I know any number can play, but there’s more than the election result on my mind. I’ve said that four years is long enough for any government. I’ve said I’d vote for our elections to be held before the hurricane season begins. I have said I’d vote for the fixed election date, like our municipal and village council elections, which are held every three years in March.

If the election is delayed, it will be on a technicality. I think Belizeans want to settle this and get on with nation building. As it stands, the only way the EBC can make sense of this is to increase divisions. And that makes no sense. After all the talk, the sound argument is that a whole Constitution revamp in that area is what’s needed here. Dammit, I sound like a disciple of Henry Charles. The only cure for that is for them to call the elections.

It’s because of his name why Jerry di try ton oava di baaj

I’ve read about people who plan their lives around the horoscope, and last week a friend shared with me a report that some people in Japan see blood type as a major determinant of our personalities. Long ago, I told you that you need go no further than the name of a person.

You know, I’m not telling anyone anything new. Our African and Native American ancestors were very serious when they went about choosing names for their offspring. I think they were more historical than futuristic. I think. Our ancestors from England gave surnames by occupation. I think I first heard about that while listening to a presentation by former GG Sir Colville. That was quite an easy system. If your family made wine for a living, you were named Wino; if your family caught fish for a living, you were named Fish, or Pescado. Ah, we all know about the gifts and pressures of our last names. If your ancestors left a good legacy, people you’ve never met think good things about you; and if your ancestors excelled at anything, people are inclined to think that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Sticking with first names, in the old country song the father named his boy Sue, because he knew that name would make an environment that would produce a tough lad. For my exhibits (my past exhibition), I used Godwin and Rufus X, men who were very much like their names. Godwin is an authority on many things, and he really is, he prepared for it; and Rufus X, if he is a bad one it’s likely because his name rhymes with ruckus. I add Hubert (Elrington)—you remember Hubert Lane was the villain in Richmal Crompton’s William series – our Hubert is a bad one too; he unfairly made a case about a bridge and also condemned all PUP — ma, pa, and lee baby. Ouch, it’s a shocker that a woman named Rose West is listed as one of the worst women villains in history. Noooo, not a girl named Rose. She’s supposed to be sweet …. There is a rose in Harlem … Sweet Rose Marie, shi pramis she gohn marid me … O, Rosa, Rosita, qué bien sería si tú fueras mía … On most things I need all the sides before I pronounce my verdict. But I don’t need any more information here. Woman? Rose? The problem here has got to be the husband.

Ah, Jerry, he isn’t big and fat, literally, but on the parallel his life is an, ehm, soft bed. A senior intellectual—while he is doing his early morning meditation, fishermen are out there in the cold and wet with their fishing line trying to kech tea, and farmers are trying to wap down or root out as much grass as they can before the sun gets hot. This electoral division baaj that he wants to ton oava, hihn mos feel laik hihn baan fu dis.

Faber the economist knows better

I don’t give Patrick Faber any sincere points for complaining about the government taking loans at low interest with long grace periods. We want, need an opposition that produces a better Plan Belize than the incumbent, not one that feeds on fear. You don’t have to study economics to know that a hundred-dollar loan at 2% with a 10-year grace period can’t be refused if you’ve got a good purpose for it. You don’t call the repayment plan there, “kicking the can down the road”.

For starters, 10 years from now, $100 will be worth a lot less than it is worth now. Adding to the pot, if you use the loan for a good purpose, you will generate the funds from that expenditure; while if you start paying now you will be paying solely from existing production. We need to be confident in ourselves.

Mr. Faber, every opportunity you get you must educate our people. Throwing negative blah on positive things is not good in a country where so many of us are yet to win.