On Friday, April 9, all ears were glued to the radio and all eyes were fixed upon Belmopan! That is because the Budget for the fiscal year 2021-2022 was being presented. No doubt, history was made at this year’s budget presentation. In total, the presentation ran about eighty minutes thereabouts, and for the first time in history, it was presented in a fancy manner, with the assistance of a teleprompter. Talk about moving on up… But guess what? The budget, in all its guts and its glory, was empty and contained very little substance… And you know what it contained a lot of? Austerity and cuts!
But just before we talk about the austerity budget, as I call it, let’s talk about bad faith! I, much like the rest of the country, was rather appalled and flabbergasted at the stunt that the government pulled. Despite the fact that they were engaged in ongoing negotiations with the joint unions regarding the proposed salary cut and increment freeze, they moved to present the budget and included the cuts in the budget. That is acting in absolute bad faith!
Then, to further compound this volatile situation and then provoke an open wound by afflicting sodium to it, a most dubious ad is being run that mars teachers and public servants and paints a rather grotesque picture of a people who, by and large, worked arduously to keep this country going. To be engaged in ongoing negotiations and because the scales aren’t tipping in your favor shouldn’t allow you to seek to repudiate the other party in a botched quest to garner support from the public. That is cowardice, callousness and acting in sheer bad faith!
Then, I wonder if the public is aware that these negotiations were very much lopsided and etched in stone long before the negotiations even began. Why do I say this? Well, simply put, negotiations, in layman’s terms, are a discussion to arrive at a middle ground that will be pleasing to both parties involved. The joint unions were not offered any other option except for that dogged 10% cut compounded by an increment freeze to run concurrently for a protracted period of 3 long years.
When the joint unions tried to counter-propose something less burdensome and strenuous on the teachers and public servants, it fell on parched land. Why? Because it was either the 10% cut coupled with the increment freeze or nothing at all. And to further clarify the point, if it was a negotiation in good faith, then that budget would not have been presented on Friday with those cuts already annotated.
It further gives credence to the fact that the government came to the table with their minds made up; they were resolute and merely entertained a phony negotiation to appear as if it was in good will and kindred spirits of camaraderie. But, truth be told, that was not the case, and with the presentation of that budget on Friday, it leaves absolutely no doubt that the government acted in bad faith!
Oh, The Disrespect!
While on the matter of the budget presentation, once again (our elected members) did not fail to put on public display how very insolent and disrespectful they are towards each other and the honorable House! I swear, it was a spectacle to behold, and it was an outright shame and disgrace to watch and listen to! We often encourage our children to look t’wards the hill and encourage them to be like our leaders, but my golly goodness! Is that the type of behavior we want our children to watch and advise them to seek to follow?
It is so saddening and disheartening to see the onslaught of disrespect and sheer disregard for civility and decency in the honorable House of Representatives! I cringe at the insulting words uttered across the floor and especially in a time like this when we need all hands to the wheel, and we can’t even sit like civilized beings to prepare a decent recovery plan for the country. I say, it is an outright shame and disgrace for our elected leaders to be carrying on in such a petty and egregious manner. When you look at the happenings in the House, it begs one to wonder if we can even put trust in the people who are supposed to LEAD us and ultimately steer this ship towards security and stability.
All in all, the budget has been read and presented, and the biggest takeaway from it is cuts and austerity! And despite all their fervent best efforts to negotiate a better deal for their members, the government struck at goal while the joint unions were still gearing up! So, as it stands, the government — 1, and the Unions — 0. After the government acted in such bad faith, it is now left to see if the unions will forfeit the match or will strategize their defense in an effort to launch an offense. Like all else, time will tell and, as old pippl always seh: time longa dan rope.
Keep your eyes open.
Unchained Reflections Of A Liberal Pragmatist.