Dear Editor,
As time goes by, we are seeing that our government is becoming more corrupt, backstabbing, and cutthroat. You can clearly see that they don’t have any integrity or interest in pushing Belize towards success. They are only interested in money. And we Belizeans allow them to be in office because we sell our votes for a mere $75, a piece of land, or a month’s worth of rent.
There is the passport scandal, the Guatemalan situation, and now the Melvin Hulse recordings confirming that the UDP government is corruptly using Petrocaribe funds to trigger resignations by members of the House of Representatives leading to “buy-elections.”
The general election is coming soon and I’m sure that there will be people who will sell their votes for a couple of bills. To all politicians regardless of what party you belong. I challenge you to do the following:
1. HAVE INTEGRITY. Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. I cannot stress how important this is. If you give us your word, keep it! If you say something, keep it truthful and don’t try to spin it. We the people elected you because we trust that you will lead this country to success. Success will come and go but integrity is forever. Do the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching. It takes courage to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences will be.
2. OWN THE PROBLEM. It doesn’t matter which politician or party did what. YOU are in charge. Own the problem, apologize, and provide solutions. If what Mr. Hulse says is true, own the problem. “Yes, I did such a thing and I’m truly sorry for what I have done. I will do …to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” We are getting tired of this blame game. It doesn’t matter who started: please be the one to end it.
3. Practice your public speaking skills. It’s a disgrace hearing the House meetings our government has. All I hear is shouting, playing the blame, and drama. I thought that the House meeting is where everyone comes together to discuss SOLUTIONS and come up with an action plan to move forward.
4. Learn from the past. If you are going to hold on to the past, at least analyze the situation and learn from it. Instead of saying “Why us?” say “What is the lesson to be learned.” Use the past as a learning experience and move on.
I hope you take my request seriously, Belize has potential for success and we need leaders with strong integrity and professionalism to lead us.
To all Belizeans, I suggest that when general elections come, vote for the right person not for the one who gives the most money. Look at the situation we are in because we sold our votes for a few $100 bills.
Sincerely,
A concerned Belizean citizen
(Please withhold my name)