BELIZE CITY, Thurs. May 28, 2020– Belizeans keep saying they are fed up with corruption and the “PUDP”. But, are they really?
The Red is enjoying the control of the streets during this pandemic, when meetings are outlawed, and they get to distribute all the handouts to hungry voters with “government” money. So, although they were extremely unpopular, and the government was practically broke from before COVID-19, now they are seriously looking for a dark-horse, upset victory come elections later this year.
And the Blue? They are surely feeling it; it’s PUP All The Way this time! And the Big Blue Machine is rolling on to victory for sure.
But, hold on, folks! It seems we’ve been this way before; one too many times, actually, for us not to make sure we don’t return this way again.
Unless we do something drastically different, it is more than likely that it will be either Blue or Red in November; and then what? More of the same PUDP?
Well, in this great crisis, there may also be a great opportunity.
Bear with me a little more.
Campaign dreams?
The PUP, our would-be saviors, have articulated a list of “Six Steps to Make Government More Accountable” on page 20 of The Belize Times, the PUP party organ, for Sunday, February 23, 2020. And they are all very good. In fact, if actually realized, they would put us as a nation on the right path to GOOD GOVERNANCE, for real!
Let’s examine the PUP’s Serious 6 Steps:
1.“We will ensure an Independent Public Accounts Committee….”
2.“… We will put in place a mechanism to ensure the financial independence of the Integrity Commission with a budget to be approved by the National Assembly…”
3.“…The next PUP Government will ensure that the Auditor General’s Office has unrestricted access to information and with full powers of investigation, including subpoena powers… will be permitted to submit their budget directly to the National Assembly… will be allowed to present reports directly to the National Assembly and not only to the Prime Minister.”
4.“The PUP will not only implement UNCAC, but we will also enact Campaign Finance Legislation. In the first 100 days, the new PUP government will direct the Office of the Attorney General to draft Campaign Finance legislation which will be subject to national consultations and review before a final bill is tabled and passed into law.”
5.“.. make the National Assembly function as the centerpiece of our government, complete with requisite checks and balances… ensure a minimum of one House Sitting per month.”
6.“..demand Senator Aldo Salazar to immediately release the findings of the Senate Select Committee on the hustle at the Department of Immigration…follow up action including criminal investigation and prosecution as deemed necessary.”
But, there is a BIG problem. Do you see it?
Well, the above is all good and desirable; but for now, it could all be just wishful thinking. What can WE DO as a people, the voters, to ENSURE that once election day is over, and the hype is past, that things just don’t simmer down, with lots of excuses, and delays, and explanations, and tons of “palabra,” as we are quite familiar with from the current Attorney General? How will we, how can we, ensure that once elected, their hands will be “held to the fire”? THAT is our problem —how to protect ourselves as voters NOW, while we still have the power of our votes, to get the would-be elected leaders to really commit, and not just by word-of-mouth promises. That was the way of the past; and it has not been pretty.
Soooo… BPP/BPF et al, you are vital to our success as a people here. You will make the difference. Here is a plan, a suggestion.
Unless any pledge or commitment is drafted in legal language as a bill to be passed directly into law, once elections are over, we better just pay it no mind, as simply more campaign dreams and rhetoric, that may be easily forgotten, once the excitement and euphoria of victory is past. (Remember brother Dean and the machete for any “whiff of corruption”?)
Therefore, for each of the 6 steps/demands from the would-be elected party above, we need to have the actual enabling legislation drafted from NOW, before the election. The BPP/BPF et al can help the PUP in drafting each bill, or critiquing it and suggesting changes; so that the bill will be considered adequate by the BPP/BPF, who will thus be our “watchdogs” in this process. And watchdogs with “teeth;” because, once these bills are drafted and approved by the BPP/BPF, then both UDP and PUP candidates will be challenged to endorse them.
People Power on election day
If neither the PUP nor UDP endorse them, we will know that they both plan to break our hearts one more time; and in that case, we would really have to consider going BPP en masse.
If only the PUP endorses the bills, then our vote is easy at elections.
If the UDP endorses the bills, then their only chance for hope at the polls, will be to prove themselves by immediately tabling the bills in the House NOW, before the elections, and challenging the PUP to support passing them into law.
If they both vote to pass the tabled bills in the House, then come election day, Belize voters will already win, regardless of which party gains the majority in the House, because we will have the laws already in place. And to be sure there is no back-tracking, we can legitimately prepare from now for a national strike, civil disobedience, etc. (Hello, unions!) It will be “People Power” on election day this time, once we get the bills drafted, and the major parties to commit one way or the other.
Those “6 Steps” proposed by the PUP don’t have to be wild dreams or wishful thinking. Let’s push now, and the BPP/BPF can be instrumental, to get these pieces of legislation drafted, the “T’s” crossed and the “I’s” dotted at least one month before election day.