The Opposition People’s United Party’s leader Johnny Briceño made a bold move on Wednesday when he tabled proposals at a meeting of the party’s national executive to create a space on the PUP executive for former Prime Minister and ex-party leader, Said Musa, who has retained the Fort George division as his stronghold despite his party’s demise in national electoral politics.
Notwithstanding notable dissent among executive members, the proposal to include a seat for Musa on the executive as “immediate past leader” was accepted by a majority; so was Briceño’s proposal to give Freetown Area Representative, Francis Fonseca (cousin of ex-campaign manager, Ralph Fonseca), a new space as deputy leader, bringing the number of Briceño’s deputies to four.
The other deputies are Lake I representative Cordel Hyde; Albert Division’s Mark Espat, and Daniel Silva, a former representative for Cayo Central and former PUP minister.
Bill Lindo, who came out swinging at Briceño’s leadership last week in an article in the Amandala, was promoted from his post of deputy public relations officer to co-chair for party policy.
Lindo will share the position with Hugh O’Brien, who formerly served as CEO under Mark Espat, when he held the portfolio of National Development. (Amandala is informed that Anthony Chanona had earlier this year resigned, leaving that policy post vacant.)
Mark Usher, formerly of Belize Telecommunications Limited/Belize Electricity Limited, and Anthony Mahler, employee of SpeedNet/SMART (a Briceño company) share responsibility for public relations as deputies of Narda Garcia (SpeedNet’s chief operations officer).
Dr. Sharmayne Saunders, lecturer at the University of the West Indies and president of We Da Fu Collet, is the PUP’s liaison for social partners – a new post.
The expansion and consolidation of the PUP executive comes after the appointments of two attorneys and former ministers of foreign affairs to the Senate for the PUP – Eamon Courtenay and Lisa Shoman, who swiftly replaced Hector Silva and Aiden Salazar after Silva’s abstention on the bill for the takeover of Belize Telemedia Limited from the PUP’s chief financier, Michael Ashcroft.
A source tells us that the Musa/Fonseca camp had been clamoring for spaces on the PUP executive for some time.
The proposals approved by the national executive go next to the National Party Council meeting on Sunday, when representatives of all 31 constituencies should be able to have their say, possibly before a final endorsement by the party convention.
(On the campaign trail in January 2009, the PUP’s then mayoral candidate, Cecil “Chubby” Reneau, had told local media that there is no old or new PUP, but one PUP.)