Sunday, February 13, 2011
THE BELIZE TIMES
Belize – To the Rest of the World The Prime Minister gave one of his quarterly press conferences/self-glorifications sessions this Wednesday. No doubt this will be followed by a glitzy nausea-inducing propaganda commercial edited and voiced by the UDP’s Chief Propagandist, Delroy Cuthkelvin, who is paid not from party funds but from our tax payer dollars. Yes, this government spends millions on its propaganda campaign constantly releasing commercials and advertisements about this project or the other. Never mind that most, if not all of those projects received their funding under the PUP government. Never mind that this UDP government has taken Belize back two decades at least in terms of development. Never mind that only a select few ‘friends and family members’ keep getting richer while most of us keep getting poorer. Nah, the ad spots showing Dean Barrow smiling, Boots dancing, Faber lying, and Erwin, Saldivar and Castro’s waistlines growing, keep coming during the news and after. It is a recurring nightmare that we all desperately want to wake up from. There is no doubt that internally, Belizeans have lost all faith and confidence in this UDP government. Unfortunately for our beloved country, the external outlook is dismal as well. Thanks to the UDP, Belize’s reputation has suffered severely. No matter the issue, Belize has plummeted. CRIME: With 132 murders committed, 2010 was the worst year in history for Belize in terms of murder. This record gives Belize one of the highest murder rates in the world with over 40 people killed per one hundred thousand. In simple terms, 4 in every 10,000 people are murdered. And murder is not the only dangerous issue. Gang related violence, drug trafficking and armed robberies are also on the rise. Belize’s crime is out of control and there seems to be no solution in sight being offered by Barrow and his Government to try and stem the problem. Thanks to such a record, Belize is often placed on travel advisories by foreign countries for their visiting tourists. CORRUPTION: Corruption was the UDP’s favorite word when they were in Opposition. It became their buzz word- the word that made them win the election. We now know that the reason it was their favorite word is that they were so good at it. This UDP government is by far the most corrupt government Belize has ever seen. The blatant nepotism, and misuse and abuse of power is staggering. There is no doubt that it must scare potential foreign investors to read in the news that Barrow uses his position like a tin pot dictator- putting family members in high ranking and powerful positions and taking away jobs from innocent and hardworking people simply because of their political affiliation. It also scares away investors to see that Barrow takes away companies and people’s rights at a whim. Let us not forget too the slippery slope we are on when it comes to the judiciary. For a nation to be free and democratic, it must have an independent judiciary so that citizens can feel confident in knowing that the rule of law will remain unbiased and untampered. Barrow has taken away that security with his blatant disregard for the Bar Association and for the rules of law and international arbitration. When one reads about Belize on the internet, they will read that reliable sources have labeled Belize as a country where ‘business freedom is down and the judicial system is vulnerable to political interference and corruption.’ It must also be embarrassing for Barrow to know that his peers laugh when they see him flying to Miami to beg Carnival for a reprieve and Carnival sending middle men to negotiate with the Prime Minister of Belize. That is all the respect that they give to Belize because that is the respect that Barrow’s behavior has earned. Yes, it is not a pretty sight to try and look at Belize from an outsider’s point of view. Belize has lost so much respect because of Barrow and this UDP government. It will be the job of the next PUP government to earn Belize back its good reputation.
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