by Colin Hyde

So, the government acquired 15 acres on the GCP Highway for the new hospital. Give the government a pass for not thinking things through when it signed the deal with the Saudis. We know how people, especially people who are PUP, get excited around money. You remember that Krismos song with the kiddies going to bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads; well, those PUP must have been giddy no hell when the Saudis, who have more money than they can spend, opened up the vaults for the hospital and solar panels. I guess they must have thought – any stable for this hospital horse; Bring di money. Later, they realized their folly.

Kevin Bernard said he and his advisors made the decision to put the hospital in a more accessible location. There are arguments for “university hospital”, and that sounds so nice, but if the experts in the medical field say that’s not the best location, only people in the medical field can tell me they’re wrong.

There is a story that the hospital was to be placed on a 60-acre parcel behind UB Belmopan. You don’t need 60 acres for a hospital in Belize. If you go around our country, you will see our hospitals on parcels much smaller than that. There is a story that the previous government sold off a portion of hospital land in Belmopan to a friend.

How the government corrected the recent error is stuff for a discussion. There is the suggestion that the decision to move the hospital was made just so the PUP could raid the vault. How bad it is when you don’t have a good name. Bah, there are no second chances in life.

I’ve been near the sewer ponds, but I was just passing by, not about appraising my surroundings. We have a report that there is some flooding in the area. We bought 2 parcels. It’s possible the government only wanted one, and was forced to buy the second to get the first. Maybe government needs to increase the size of the sewer ponds and a section of one of the parcels will serve that purpose.

We know the land has value, so if it is a bad buy, it is not a $6.9 million loss. Land valuation involves considerable expertise, and one of Belize’s foremost land valuers put it at $6.2 million. Ah, but some smart people are saying the land isn’t worth near what we paid for it. It is a fact that every time we go to court against land speculators, we get banged. The owners reportedly were in the business of subdividing the property, six parcels per acre. The country’s valuer estimated those 90 lots at $69,000 each. The suggestion is that the government really needed this land, so we paid $0.7 million more than it is worth, $77,000 per lot. Boy, every time we go to court against land speculators, we get banged.

Government said it paid $2 million less than the owners were asking for, but no one would be blamed if they said government was quite generous. There’s a fascinating question that is outstanding. Had the owners balked at selling and government moved to acquire, how would the courts have handled the owners’ intent to subdivide? Wait, had they already gotten the go ahead from LUA (Land Subdivision & Utilization Authority) to do so? If they hadn’t, would the courts have considered the land’s potential as residential parcels? Don’t forget, we always get banged in the courts.

As mischief goes, I don’t think this is the worst. As noted, that land has value. If the lead valuer in the government said it is worth $6 million, well, it takes someone with big time credentials to counter that. Aha, Fonso said numerous ministers were doing a lot of explaining to try and klayr showl (shoal). There is nothing like the Kriol langwij to nail the point. Right now, there’s much smoke in the air. But we’ll know the full what and the full why soon enough. I declare, I’m not happy with government spending so much money here. But I’ll give the accused every benefit before I vote for the gallows.

Netanyahu—no end to his genocide

The report this week is that the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has reached 40,000. When Hamas had carried out its savage attack, and killed a thousand Israelis and their friends, Judeo/Christian zealots here and across the world said they would pay ten lives for every one they took. Today, it’s 40 Palestinians for every victim of the Hamas attack. It doesn’t stop there. Tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians have suffered permanent physical injuries, over 2 million have been displaced and are starving or sick, and hospitals, schools, and homes have been razed.

A couple senior church leaders here, after they grasped the extent of Netanyahu’s massacre of innocent men, women, and children, had promised to revisit their support for Israel’s unholy war. We need to hear their voices in support of an immediate ceasefire. US president Joe Biden and his VP have called for a ceasefire. Disappointingly, shockingly, His Majesty’s UDP has not joined our government in the stand against this genocide.

From the Olympics, Port Layola

One of the headlines I read said Paraguayan swimmer Luana Alonso was too “hot,” and so she had to stay outside of the Olympic village. Somebody has to ask that pole vaulter whose body part knocked down the bar if Luana was on his mind when his Olympic dreams came crashing down. No, that’s not the first story that came to my mind when I read the Luana headlines. What it reminded me of was a report some years ago about a female teacher who the judge said was too hot to teach, and she agreed. Sometimes you find pearls in the American justice system. There’s always a lawyer to take your case – if you’ve got the money, honey, they’ve got the time – but the female teacher was as wise and conscientious as she was, hot.

Hey, if you dress ANY healthy young woman provocatively and spray one of those perfumes on her that have as much effect on the libido as chicken or pork on the grill have on the stomach, she will cause major problems for the male faction. The full story on Luana was that her behavior and some interactions with other athletes were deemed inappropriate. The girl loves provocative wear, and you know she’s in peak physical condition, being an Olympics caliber swimmer. Maybe the Paraguayan Olympics committee would not have been so severe with her if she hadn’t stated that she would have preferred to represent the US at the races. Go Paraguay! Put on some decent clothes or stay home, young lady.

I didn’t like how Noah Lyles acted as though he’d blown away the competition in the 100 meters, when he won by a hair. Of course, you understand his joy; it’s something he worked for all his life, but he was too exuberant. A day or two later he got smoked in the 200 meters, amidst claims that he was suffering from Covid. He received little sympathy. And maybe he didn’t deserve any for the way he carried on after the 100, a victory he deserved, but also a victory he got because the brother who came in second, Kishane Thompson, hadn’t mastered the lean at the line.

Turning to Port Layola, we are being roughed up on the international scene. I’m not surprised. The team is talented, the most talented in the country, but because they practice in a hog pen, they are at a disadvantage on the international scene. While the club is gaining valuable experience – many of the players are appearing on the international scene for the first time – because the results have been poor, both their spirits and finances are flagging. I don’t know how many more games are left on their schedule. It’s tough, but they have to hold their heads up high, play fair, respect the game, and fight through.