…the million dollar question is what the government is going to offer in its place to combat the murder madness in the nation. Oh boy, I remember well the multi-pronged initiative the UDP trotted out a few months ago to fight crime…presented on glossy paper…in full color…to a packed house at the plush Caracol Room at the Radisson Fort George. Braa, this party looks like “long water”…no gumption.
The PD (preventative detention) bill proposed had serious flaws. Detaining people to prevent crime is not an easy sell. A law with no flesh to it (just like the recall mechanism bill that is also up for discussion) is not an easy sell. We heard the Prime Minister say that men with the credentials of a Mr. Godwin Hulse would be the kind of people selected to sit on the body that would be set up to decide who were to be pulled off the street. Even Mr. Hulse had to balk when he heard his name offered to sweeten the PD pie. Where are these laws emanating from that have no beef? The vocal crowd had a hurrah tearing into that one, like hound dogs on a fowl that didn’t return to the coop for night keep.
There is chaos in the country. This present crowd in government was savagely booted from office in 1998 because they were (among other things) perceived to be soft, IMPOTENT ON CRIME. Ten years later they still don’t show the mettle to deal with hard criminals. Poor Belize, what will become of us? Twenty-five plus six highly paid men we chose to lead us just going through the motions in the big House, frittering away our world.
Justice is delayed; thus, justice is denied. The consequence of foot dragging on mayhem is more mayhem. All over the nation men and women who have done their best to stay on the straight and narrow path, for the good of the society, are talking about arming themselves to defend their turf. Vigilante justice to provide retribution for the buckets of precious blood that have been spilled in our country is in the hearts of many.
Brothers and sisters we lie, we are no longer the tranquil haven of democracy. Our justice system has failed, is failing us badly.
When men in leadership run out of ideas, or when their ideas fail, it is time for them to pack their pataki and goh. H. Erwin Contreras, H. John Saldivar, H. Arturo Roches, you are presiding over a blood bath, sirs.
Really, Mr. PM and the UDP, from out here it looks like Quitsville is here already for you who were so bold before the February election. Please, what do you have to offer now that the PD in the form presented was rejected?
Waiting for bold, sincere government
Some years ago (not more than ten years) a huge tract of land on the prized Placencia Peninsula was put up for sale by private owners. I remember looking at the ads as published in the local newspapers week after week and wondering when Belize would ever have leaders who cared for the masses. It was obvious that government should have purchased the land, for Belizeans, not allow it to fall back into hands that could only speculate with it, which it most likely did.
You know how many lots on that strip of heaven could have been distributed to the people? Unlike the countryside where homeowners need sizable lots so they can grow some food, you don’t need a big yard (the sea is the yard for people who live on the coast), not more than a quarter acre plot when you are setting up a weekend getaway.
I remember the fat deal that awaited us in Placencia whenever I see the For Sale sign on the shrimp farm, Nova. Why can’t the government purchase Nova, cut the ponds into small parcels (this can be done by GPS markings), hire a good management team…and set up jobless people (youth in the CYDP, for example) who are serious about earning a living?
Last week the Fresh Catch Company announced that business is so good they are expanding their tilapia farm. We know that the price of shrimp on the world market has to rebound. It’s a perfect opportunity for a government that can’t fulfill its economic promises (because of rising cost of production), to show that it is serious about fighting poverty. But, as per the lands in Placencia, government is praying for some knight in shining armor to ride in and swoop up the prize at Nova, and employ people. Do you think we have really changed economic philosophy?
Brilliant Mr. Harris
A gentleman from Belmopan side of the woods, Mr. Kevin F. Harris, M.S., M.S. A., made the brilliant suggestion in the Tuesday Amandala (#2250) that our GoB should: Develop a government-run web portal that will market and sell Belizean products and services (from all industries, including government services) on the Internet.
I pray to God that no big ill-placed ego stands in the way of progress. By now, Friday, three days after Mr. Harris wrote that letter, I expect that the relevant government department has already put a team in place to select the locally produced goods and services, of highest quality, that will get the ride on this web portal, AND that another team to get the technical side of the project on stream is busy setting it up…like yesterday.
I see Watina on the page. I see Marie Sharp pepper on the page. I see Sea Lotto on the page. I see Tropico y Ritmo on the page. I see Mr. Peters and Mr. Ben Nicholas and Mr. Pen Cayetano on the page. I see the Belize Museum and Old Belize Museum on the page. I see lots of the best of Belize on the page. Go, Belizean.
O, never mind those who have individual web pages. The GoB page can only enhance business.