Photo: (l to r) Patrick Faber, UDP’s Collet area representative and Hon. Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Oct. 19, 2023
Opposition Leader Moses “Shyne” Barrow and the UDP’s Collet area representative Patrick Faber have both issued apologies this week – Barrow to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Valerie Woods, and Faber to his Party.
After reaffirming his position inside the House during last week’s meeting, and outside to the press, Barrow wrote to the House Speaker on Tuesday, October 16 saying, “I write in the spirit of a reset to offer my apologies for the offense you took to my email August 10th.” Many consider that, in effect, Barrow did not actually express remorse for what he said, and only apologized for the Speaker taking offense to his accusation that she was a “waste of time,” “biased” and “a party hack”. Confronted with that observation, Barrow submits that everyone is entitled to their opinion.
The remainder of Barrow’s e-mail evidences that his position on the Speaker remains unchanged. He goes on to tell her, “It is regrettable that the valid complaints raised in my email have been hijacked by the pup [sic] Members of the House to serve their partisan agenda to distract the Belizean people from their failed government that has inflicted the most punishment on our Citizens with heartless hawkish policies.
“The business of the Mesopotamia people and 30 other Constituencies that elected me Leader is far too important for me to allow the pup [sic] to turn the Parliament into a circus with their meaningless motions that make a mockery of the Standing Orders.” Barrow then tells the Speaker that she plays an integral role in ensuring the voice of the people is heard. He subsequently emphasizes, “Without an Opposition we have no Democracy. If the Opposition is silenced we have no Democracy. If the Standing Orders are interpreted to prevent government accountability we threaten our Democracy and encourage corruption.”
Barrow then clinches his position by demanding from the Madam Speaker equal respect for his Office of Leader of the Opposition. He states, “I have the highest respect for the Institution of Parliament and the Office of the Speaker, however it is when there is a feeling that there is a lack of reciprocity in reverence for the Office of the Leader and his Opposition Members, then trust and confidence is eroded which translates into a House that is in disorder with Members having little to no regard for the Standing Orders and required decorum that should guide our discourse.
“It is in this vein that I write hoping for a reset between the Office of the Speaker and the Office of the Leader and his Opposition Members so we can conduct the business of the People’s House in an orderly manner that brings maximum benefit to the people we serve.”
PUP member of the Privileges Committee, Hon. Francis Fonseca told the media Wednesday that he does consider Barrow’s e-mail as an apology, though he says at the end of the day, it will be the Privileges Committee and the Speaker who have the final say. Fonseca commented, “The Leader of the Opposition went from a very hard-line position of no apology – obnoxious and arrogant, in my view – to a position where he is admitting, I believe, in his own way, that he erred, and that, in fact, he owes the Speaker an apology. So, in my view, we should not bicker about the manner and content of that apology. I certainly accept it as an apology.”
For his part, Minister of Constitutional and Political Reform, Henry Usher remarked Wednesday that Barrow ought to know that to question the conduct of the Speaker, a proper motion must be brought. Usher affirmed, “Sending that e-mail was improper of him.” Usher also said it’s the Speaker who will decide if the apology is fit.
Shortly after writing the House Speaker, Barrow also wrote the Chairman of the Privileges Committee, Hon. Julius Espat asking that the Committee discuss the objectionable comments inside the House made by Prime Minister John Briceño toward the UDP’s Hon. Tracy Panton on March 10, 2023, and those of Hon. Jose Mai also to Hon. Panton on June 3rd. Barrow states, “I pray this matter is treated with the same urgency as the recent report from this Committee requesting an apology from a member for conduct that occurred outside the Honorable House.”
Minister Fonseca says the Privileges Committee is to meet on October 23rd and Barrow’s request can be tabled at that time. He did say though that he considers the request as frivolous and vexatious. He does not believe that the request has any merit, and affirms that they are two different issues. He indicated, “Across the aisle, everybody gets a little bit offensive from time to time. In a sense, that is what we sign up for – the hurly burly of politics. I know some people don’t like it, but that’s the reality of politics on the House floor.” Fonseca holds, though, that the comments uttered to Hon. Panton is very different from questioning the integrity of the Speaker. He did say that both the PM and Minister Mai expressed their apologies to Hon. Panton before. Today, Minister Mai affirmed as much. He said, “I thought that matter had blown over already. That carrot season is over, another carrot season began. I don’t know why the matter is coming back. But look, when that occurred in the House, I personally called Hon. Tracy and I said, ‘I’m sorry for what was said. It was not intentionally said in that way,’ and she accepted my apology.” He believes that “politicking kicked in” which is why the matter is being raised again.
As it relates to Hon. Faber’s apology, he wrote in his Party’s WhatsApp chat groups, “In the vein of the party leader’s concession, I sincerely apologize for any harm that my letter and statement in the House may have caused to the party. It was not my intention to undermine or harm our collective efforts. I value the trust and unity of our members.” Initially, Barrow accused Faber of “crossing the floor”, but he later told the press that he would comply with the request of his Party colleagues to address the matter internally.