One thing we’ve learned from Belize’s political leaders over the years is that they never accede to any suggestion from the people if it means their giving up any power they need to hide dishonesty in government. They will yield on occasion, to make it look as if we are a party to this democracy, fully involved, but if the change means less capacity to cover up malfeasance, it won’t happen.
One party, the People’s United Party (PUP), passed a law that prohibited area representatives from crossing the floor. Prior to this piece of legislation, area representatives had crossed the floor twice, Toledo’s Vicente Choco leaving the United Democratic Party (UDP) to join the 1974-1989 PUP government, and the UDP’s Stanley Usher, again from Toledo, leaving the UDP to join the 1989-1993 PUP government. The law preventing a crossing of the floor was in order to check area representatives so they couldn’t vote against their party.
If Belize had any hopes of having back benchers in the House of Representatives, an essential part of a functioning parliamentary democracy, that went down the tubes.
Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s UDP, when it came to power in 2008, put a 3-term limit on the office of Prime Minister. This does not diminish the power of the government to cover up corruption.
The UDP introduced a “Recall of Representatives Act”, in 2011, but when the UDP’s Elvin Penner stumbled and the PUP moved to recall him, in 2013, the UDP undermined the law. The recall law said that if 30% of registered voters in a division called for a recall of their representative, the Chief Elections Officer would initiate that referendum, and if 65% of electors cast their votes in the referendum, and the majority supported a recall, the representative would have to vacate his/her seat.
We all know how that played out. The government reportedly threatened to fire public officers who signed the petition, and the Chief Elections Officer rejected enough of the voters to block the petition. The Chief Elections Officer might have acted reasonably, but the behavior of the government put the process in doubt.
The Organization of American States’ (OAS) “Electoral Observation Mission Final Report” on the General and Municipal Elections in Belize held on March 7, 2012, had as one of its recommendations, “The incorporation of mechanisms to enhance the neutrality of electoral administration, such as a prohibition on Elections and Boundary Commissioners and members of the Elections and Boundaries Department from serving simultaneously in leadership positions within political parties.” The present chairman of the UDP, Mr. Alberto August, once headed the Elections and Boundaries Commission. His tenure there could have been described as, very energetic.
The Public Accounts Committee, an oversight body instituted to scrutinize the spending of public funds, is non-functional. The present government offered to include social partners in the committee, but insisted that the government representatives on the body remain the majority. In short, they were allowing for more discussion on audited government expenditure, but there would be no action(s) taken without government approval.
The senate is really an oversight body, its main jobs being to scrutinize government business and to investigate corrupt practices. Many people supported the UDP’s proposal to have a 13th senator because the balance of power would be tilted slightly, away from the party in power.
It is a wonder ligaments didn’t snap, with the contortions the UDP government went through to prevent the implementation of the 13th senator they had proposed. When they finally did, it was after they had gained sufficient control over one of the independent seats to ensure that the re-constituted senate could not ever do anything to buck them.
The UDP did not install the 13th senator until the Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) pressured them into delivering on their promise. The BNTU had been charged that in recent times it used its power almost exclusively to secure financial and other benefits for its members, which is their function. The BNTU was asked to show appreciation to parents and the general public, wherefrom they derived unwavering support. The BNTU was asked to consider the plight of the nation when next they went into industrial action.
The next time the teachers engaged in industrial action, they remembered. The Prime Minister said that they were playing foul, that they were not acting like a trade union when they demanded that the government deliver on the 13th senator. That was only one of the concessions the BNTU forced from the government. Another was the UNCAC.
The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), was adopted by the UN General Assembly on October 31, 2003, and it entered into force on December 14, 2005. Belize was late to the party, becoming the 184th signatory to the convention on December 9, 2016.
Considering our political leaders’ apparent obsession with corruption, it is not likely that they would have signed on, had they not been forced to. Unfortunately for our political leaders, Belizeans saw the excellent work the CICIG (International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala) was doing to expose and uproot corruption in Guatemala. In 2006, Guatemala and the United Nations set up the CICIG to operate as an independent body in that country.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), on its website, www.unodc.org, explains the purpose of the convention/organization: “The United Nations Convention against Corruption is the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument. The Convention’s far-reaching approach and the mandatory character of many of its provisions make it a unique tool for developing a comprehensive response to a global problem. The vast majority of United Nations Member States are parties to the Convention.
“The Convention covers five main areas: preventive measures, criminalization and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange. The Convention covers many different forms of corruption, such as bribery, trading in influence, abuse of functions, and various acts of corruption in the private sector.”
Unfortunately for us in Belize, our political leaders have done nothing since signing on to the convention. It’s been two and a half years since we signed on, and not only has that not had any effect on corruption in governance in Belize, there is nothing encouraging on the horizon. The government did not implement the 13th senator until it was symbolic, until it had effectively ensured that the body would remain toothless, and the conspiracy to undermine UNCAC is going according to their plan.
The highly respected Centre for Strategic Studies, Policy Analysis & Research (C-SSPAR), in a recent report on the activities of the implementing body, under the Attorney General, commented on the tactics being employed to frustrate the noble hope of the people to see corruption stomped out in Belize.
C-SSPAR, in its paper, “The United Nations Convention against Corruption UNCAC — Status of Implementation in Belize: Some Issues”, says that a review group organized by the UN (Peer Review Group (PRG)) made some recommendations after some consultations in Belize, but a number of members of the UNCAC Board that was set up in 2017 by the Attorney General, did not have sufficient access to the PRG, so they did not get to make contributions.
C-SSPAR says the Chamber of Commerce called on the Attorney General to step up the pace, and his response was that that group was naïve, didn’t understand the implementation process.
“Almost eight months after the Peer Review Group assessment and submission of its Report, there has been no convening of the Board by the Attorney General’s Ministry to review the Group’s recommendations and to determine next steps,” C-SSPAR said.
C-SSPAR says, “It is quite conceivable that Belize has opted to postpone its second cycle self-assessment and peer review until 2021-Post General Elections”. C-SSPAR says the government is dragging its feet and so there might be a need for “the intensification of the type of advocacy initiatives and mass domestic pressure which forced the government to sign the UNCAC in 2016.”
It is obvious that the government is out to stall, thwart the people’s noble desire to end corruption in high places. It is our tragedy that our elected leaders insist that they will have their wallow.