BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Sept. 19, 2024
Following the summer recess, parliamentary meetings have now resumed, but are taking place in the George Price Center for Peace and Development in Belmopan, while the National Assembly building undergoes an upgrade, courtesy of a US$792,125.30 grant from Taiwan. The upgrade works will last a year. The new space was customized with the assistance of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development. It does not provide for public galleries, with the exception of a guest gallery for about a handful of people to be accommodated for special occasions, and another small gallery for the press. However, the sessions will continue to be live-streamed.
Filling the guest gallery on Friday, September 13, was the immediate family of Hon. Dr. Osmond Martinez, who were present to see Martinez be sworn in at the House of Representatives (HOR) as area representative for Toledo East. Subsequent to Martinez taking the oath of office, Prime Minister John Briceño commented that Dr. Martinez embodies the Belizean dream, “that if you work hard and be ambitious and try to get things done for yourself, that you also can do well.” “We know that Dr. Martinez comes from very, very humble beginnings, living in a banana farm, and his parents were originally from another country. And here we have this gentleman who as a child did not have electricity … but because of his determination and working in school … he managed to get to the point where he earned a doctorate, and that today the people of Toledo East decided to elect him,” PM Briceño said.
The small guest gallery was later graced by the Ambassador of Taiwan to Belize, H.E. Lily Li-Wen Hsu, who attended the House Meeting to witness the “Resolution to Celebrate 35 Years of Diplomatic Ties with Democratic Taiwan Motion, 2024.” It was at this point that the debate got intense, as it exposed the deep fracture within the United Democratic Party (UDP), His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.
While both Hon. Patrick Faber and Hon. Tracy Panton rose to support the motion, singing praises for the longstanding relationship between the two countries, and recognizing Taiwan’s contributions to Belize, Leader of the Opposition (LOO), Hon. Moses “Shyne” Barrow remained silent.
When he rose to speak, Faber prefaced his remarks by stating, “I hope I can speak on behalf of the Opposition.” He went on to say, “Indeed we are bound to be on the same page, but when we are not part of the parliamentary caucus that decides on what position we’ll take, we just have to assume we’re on the same page.” He added that he was sure his party’s leader, Hon. Barrow, would correct him if what he said was not the UDP’s position. It turns out that Hon. Barrow was harbouring resentment against the Taiwanese, and so he chose silence; but he was baited by the Prime Minister, with whom he engaged in a heated back and forth that the House Speaker, Hon. Valerie Woods, had to quell. PM Briceño declared that he found it troubling that “it seems that we have two oppositions on the other side, because we have two of the members getting up to support this motion; but it troubles me that the Leader of the Opposition – the Official Leader of the Opposition for now (I don’t know for how long)—refuses to get up and to say that they support this motion. After all that Taiwan has done for this country, this gentleman over there is going to sit down quietly, and refuses to get up and say that they support the good people and Government of Taiwan.” Hon. Briceño proceeded to declare, “It seems that he wants to sell out …you wahn sell we out to the other side?”
Without a point of order, Hon. Barrow shouted across the aisle—asking the PM whether he wanted him to talk about some three million dollars which he alleges that Taiwan granted to an NGO of someone close to the PM. He said he had the evidence to prove it, and the Prime Minister responded by telling him to “bring the evidence.”
In a subsequent interview, Hon. Barrow accused Taiwan of interfering in the political affairs of Belize, “which is very antidemocratic.” He further stated, “The Opposition has NGOs, and we don’t get any such assistance from the Taiwanese.” In a separate interview he stated, “All I’m asking for is equality.” He also raised concern about a multi-million dollar grant for housing from Taiwan to the Belmopan area representative just 60 days before the last municipal elections. He would later say, when asked, that his actions in the House of Representatives had nothing to do with a contemplation of ending diplomatic ties with Taiwan in support of China. He noted that such a decision would rest with the Cabinet and the majority in the party, if they were to win, but that others felt equally aggrieved as he did regarding the actions of Taiwan. He declared, “China is the world’s second largest economy. America, the UK, France, all of the G7 have relations with China. And there are only 10 nations out of all of the United Nations that have relations with Taiwan. So, for a nation that is hanging by a thread to be interfering in people’s democracy, to me is not smart.” Hon. Barrow said that although the UDP has previously raised the issue with Taiwan, nothing has changed.
When the resolution on diplomatic relations with Taiwan was voted on, the PUP called for a division of votes, and Hon. Barrow abstained, while his 1st Deputy Leader, Hon. Hugo Patt, and Hon. Faber and Hon. Panton voted in favour along with the PUPs.
In a subsequent response to the affirmations from some that Hon. Faber and Hon. Panton had crossed the floor because they similarly did not abstain, Hon. Barrow made it clear that the two area representatives do not speak for the UDP as they are no longer members of the party. He shared that the Central Executive and then the National Party Council of the UDP had held meetings via Zoom in which Hon. Panton, Hon. Faber, John Saldivar and Beverly Williams were expelled (the report of a meeting is being disputed by the Panton-led Alliance for Democracy (AFD)). Hon. Barrow added that while indeed, there is no reference to constructive resignations in the party’s constitution, Hon. Faber himself set a precedent back in 2011 when he, as then party chairman, declared Marcel Cardona constructively resigned. Hon. Barrow remarked, “Patrick Faber himself created constructive resignation … and all that is happening now is Karma.” Hon. Barrow also reported that several persons have applied to replace the AFD-four as standard bearers in their divisions, and said they were prepared for by-elections in the Albert and Collet divisions. Hon. Barrow is resolute that the party is moving on without the four dissenting members, and said the unity convention of the AFD on October 20 will have no bearing on the UDP.
For their part, the AFD members have pushed back on the declaration that they have been expelled, saying that the constructive resignation move did not hold, and neither will this latest move. They have gone ahead and started advertising the unity convention, and Hon. Panton has called on National Convention delegates to stand strong in the face of intimidation. She reported that a delegate was removed without resigning or without a constituency convention being held for the election of new delegates.
As to the vote of Hon. Hugo Patt, Hon. Barrow said the party did not discuss the matter fully, meaning that there was no party position, and that Hon. Patt was free to vote as he saw fit.
On adjournment at the House Meeting, sparks flew on the Opposition side when Hon. Faber discussed the internal party politics as a matter of national concern. Hon. Barrow then blurted out that he was lying, as he, Hon. Faber is no longer a member of the UDP. As Hon. Faber kept talking, Hon. Barrow interjected several times to repeat his point. Finally, Hon. Faber told him, “Not because you say so!” He then asked Speaker Woods, “Could you talk to him so that he stops interrupting me?” At that juncture, as the Speaker was reiterating the Standing Orders, Hon. Barrow rose and shouted, “You cannot pronounce on our internal matters, and he’s lying! He is NOT a member of the UDP! It’s like me getting up saying, ‘I da di Speaker.’ I da di Speaker then! Come on!” The Speaker retorted, “You did say that once, I believe.”
At the exchange, on wrapping up, the Prime Minister felt inclined to call on the Opposition to get its act together. He said, “I feel a sense of sadness – and I know yes, it’s funny, you know, what’s going on in the Opposition … It’s important that you guys get your act together. We need an opposition … It saddens me to see what’s going on when the Leader of the Opposition is going to put a ghost ahead of you two – a person who has not been in this House for the past three years … and this man, because he wants to spite you, he puts her sitting down ahead of you. Something is wrong!” (The “ghost” the PM referred to is the perennially absent Queen’s Square area rep. Hon. Denise Barrow, aunt of Hon. Shyne.)
In one final party-related snippet from Friday’s House Meeting, Hon. Barrow confirmed that he is removing Hon. Panton and Hon. Faber from all House committees. In the case of Hon. Panton, she chaired the Joint Public Accounts Committee and sat on 12 other committees.
Expungement law to only apply to first-time offenders in cases of cannabis possession
The Government is amending the expungement legislation which was passed earlier this year and enacted on August 1st as the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act, 2024. With the change, only first-time offenders for minor drug possession offences will benefit from the law, which, in its original form, had an incongruity with the Misuse of Drugs Act of 2017, which provides for the automatic expungement for persons convicted of possession of cannabis or cannabis resin and fined not more than $1,000. Introducing the amendments to both laws Friday on behalf of the Attorney General, Foreign Affairs Minister, Hon. Francis Fonseca explained that the two acts currently lend themselves to abuse by repeat offenders. He shared, “A person can be convicted of possession of cannabis in January, pay his fine and have his record be expunged and a month later, reoffend, be fined and apply to have his criminal record be automatically removed, as there is no limit for an application of automatic expungement.” He affirmed that it is not the intention of legislation for repeat offenders to benefit from the automatic right to have their criminal records expunged.
Fonseca reiterated that the purpose of the Bill is to address the stigma that comes with a criminal record, particularly for individuals who might have committed such an offence as a youth. The Bill provides an avenue for those who have turned their lives around “to fully move on from their past mistakes …” and have a fresh start.
Notably, on Friday, the Government added another area of application for automatic expungement, that of first-time offenders under the COVID-19 quarantine regulations. Fonseca remarked, “These offences of being on the street or in a public area during curfew hours have become spent, and are no longer applicable laws of Belize, yet thousands of people still have criminal records for these offences …”
According to Fonseca, the Government will advocate for the Governor General to exercise her powers under the Summary Jurisdiction Procedure Act to exempt COVID-19 first-time offenders and persons fined under $1,000 for cannabis possession from paying some or all of their fines still owed. Fonseca says over 3,500 people stand to benefit from this initiative. He also referenced a letter dated February 28, 2024, from the then president of the Bar Association, Senior Counsel Andrew Marshalleck, that 70 prisoners were at the Belize Central Prison for breach of COVID regulations. Fonseca said Marshalleck urged that the sentences be commuted and the Government be relieved of the financial burden to house those prisoners. Fonseca said the cost to house the prisoners would be greater than the fines to be paid.
A board has been established to consider expungement applications.
Government safeguarding against significant revenue loss from blended biodiesel imports
Prime Minister John Briceño at the House Meeting Friday reported that blended biodiesel is currently taxed significantly less than petroleum-based diesel oil, and so they are varying the rates of import duty so that the Government does not lose out significantly from the increasing importation of these fuels. To allow for the changes, amendments are being made to the Customs and Excise Duties Act so that the list of items subjected to excise duty is increased. It means that all diesel oils will be taxed the same, and so there won’t be any tax advantage between the two.
Blended biodiesel is a substitute for petroleum-based diesel oil. It is made by mixing modified vegetable oils like soybean, canola and used restaurant oil (“yellow grease”) and diesel fuel.
Briceño Administration introduces bill to further assist MSMEs
Also introduced at Friday’s House Meeting was the Movable Property Security Rights Bill, 2024, to allow MSMEs access to financing “even in tough times when they are coming close to insolvency,” explained Prime Minister John Briceño. According to the PM, in such instances, businesses will be able to use equipment and accounts receivables (movable property) as collateral to source credit to avoid going bankrupt.
PM Briceno described the Bill as transformative, with “the potential to unlock millions of dollars in new, more affordable lending – driving growth in key sectors like manufacturing, tourism and other services. This bill is not just about economic growth, it is about empowering the small business owners, farmers and entrepreneurs who have long been sidelined by a financial system that doesn’t recognize their assets.”
An Office of the Registrar of Security Rights is to be established.
Upgrade of Thomas Vincent Ramos Highway gets underway
At Friday’s House Meeting, Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing, Hon. Julius Espat reported that following an open tender, they accepted a $9.6 million bid from Teichroeb and Sons Ltd. for the upgrade of the Thomas Vincent Ramos Highway (formerly the Southern Highway) from its Dangriga Junction to the Hopkins Junction. Espat explained that this 10-mile stretch marks the start of the rehabilitation of the entire Highway. This section is being done first, explained Espat, because “the roads have experienced damage, because now the road is being used by heavier trucks, meaning the trucks that are coming in from the Orange Walk District from BSI and the trucks that are coming in from the Cayo District from Santander, and other trucks that are now using the port in the south.” Works started in July this year and are expected to be completed in March 2025.
Later proposals will address upgrades from Hopkins to Placencia, Placencia to Independence, and from Independence to Punta Gorda.