Belize Times July 31, 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

THE BELIZE TIMES

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DARK DAYS AHEAD – The making of a DESPOT Dean Oliver Barrow has tabled in the House of Representatives his own delusional version of total control. Through Constitutional Amendment #9, the Prime Minister has served notice to the Courts that they no longer belong in the Constitution as a vital part to safeguard the freedoms of the citizens of Belize. There is only one man that decided everything – Dean Oliver Barrow.

He can hear the bells toll. He knows the day of reckoning is near. So desperate he is that he will use any tactic to distract the people. Recently, he took over the electric and telephone companies without paying for them but this has not resulted in either lower utility bills or Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP).

In fact, you get disconnected faster under the government controlled BEL and BTL if you do not have enough money to pay your bills.

No jobs exist but Barrow is trying to cover up his ineptitude. He spent so much time as a schoolboy trying to appear superior to his classmates by insulting them with big words that he failed to count correctly. He cannot balance a budget. He did not care that compensating the owners of these utility companies would mean greater indebtedness of the people of Belize. BTL and BEL alone are almost $1 billion.

Since the UDP took office, the number of businesses that have gone belly up continues to swell accounting for some 10,000 layoffs. Remember, they promised to create jobs. Every year, there are some 5,000 graduates who have no jobs which means that since February 2008, there have been a total of 15,000 graduates who remained jobless. So, under Barrow and the UDP, we have some 25,000 Belizeans who are jobless. No jobs equal more despondency and crime. Barrow has proven he is impotent on crime and creating jobs for Belizeans.

There’s also no investment in Belize and Barrow continues to hide behind the big stick. This “Sheriff of Nothing Happening” is taxing people and ruling by fear. “Dean the Policeman” will whip everyone who disagrees with him. He has driven foreign investment completely away and after taking what wasn’t his, he wants to now give away the sugar industry after chronic mismanagement by him and his Government. Barrow has literally kicked the 6,000 cañeros to the curb and has cowered the employees of BSI to surrender their shares to a foreign interest. The factory employees do not have a say since the “colonial management contract” ran the factory into the ground, withholding dividends from them. In two years, that colonial management contract will expire and yield the industry twice the return on the sale of sugar.

Knowing this, Barrow still wants to give away the sugar industry to Banco Atlantida. Under the new agreement, Banco Atlantida will squeeze the cañeros by competing directly with them as growers taking away their farmlands, thereby creating a sugar monopoly and eliminating the small farmers. Crony capitalism and neo-liberalism at its best. But this is Barrow’s solution.

Barrow can run but he can’t hide. He is so over and done that he has now resorted to an old tactic he had pulled on Ruben Campos in Orange Walk. In the UDP, Campos was a rising star and had pushed for Orange Walk Town to become a city. Barrow, however, stalled the draft legislation to effect the change arguing with his then boss and Prime Minister, Manuel Esquivel, that municipal independence would threaten absolute power in Cabinet, since he was “Minister of Everything” back then. In the end, all poor Campos got was the name “Sugar City”.

Now, Barrow knows he will lose the Municipal Elections because the people have no jobs and the economy is in shambles. The people also have bills mounting and no money to pay those bills. The pain, poverty and punishment on Belizeans are so great that the “distraction” of the utilities takeover will fade away at the polls and they will vote out Barrow and the UDP. So, now, Barrow wants the Government to administer the municipalities and take away the rights of those municipalities to govern their own affairs.

He was afraid of Zenaida and now, he is afraid of the PUP Mayor in waiting.

You can run Dean but you sure cannot hide.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Barrow’s

Accommodation Agreement Continued from page 1

facilitating the handing over of the Belize Sugar Industries to a foreign entity.

Cane farmers have been mobilising. The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA), which represents a majority of cane farmers, has indicated to Prime Minister Dean Barrow that they can access $5m through the Fairtrade funds, and could seek the rest from a financial institution. They have not asked the Prime Minister to assist with financing, instead only to provide support through a sovereign guarantee which would bolster their ability to access financing.

But instead of supporting the Belizeanisation of BSI and the Sugar Industry, and instead of backing the 6,000 cane farmers who have toiled the land to ensure the survival of their livelihoods, Prime Minister Barrow has turned down the proposal. He says the “deal” proposed by the foreign entity, Banco Atlantida of Honduras, is the “best option”.

Banco Atlantida’s proposal Banco Atlantida is proposing to buy 51% of the shares in BSI. BSI workers currently own 81% through Belize Employee Holdings, Tate & Lyle owns 10%, and the Government of Belize owns 9%. For Banco Atlantida to end up with majority ownership, the current shares would be watered-down and the amount of shares increased. Only the workers would lose shares, because after 51% goes to Banco Atlantida, and Tate & Lyle and GOB keep their 10% and 9% respectively, the workers would only keep a minimum 30%.

Banco Atlantida has offered to purchase the 51% stake for $20m. Banco Atlantida is also proposing to invest a further $70m into the industry broken down as follows: $25m for sugar mill expansion, $20m for sugar cane production, $5m for working capital, and $20m as financing for cane farmers.

On the face it sounds like a great deal of money into the industry, but the investment, some of it unnecessary, is proposed over the next ten years.

The accommodations More interesting is what Banco Atlantida wants in return for their ownership of BSI. The BELIZE TIMES has learnt that in the list of demands are that Banco Atlantida obtains 20,000 acres of land for sugar cane production.

The value of such vast land is around $20m, which means we would be simply giving up essential capital to foreigners. Cane farmers have expressed serious concern about the unfair level of playing field that would be created if a well-financed bank became a grower.

With such financing they could introduce technology which would easily out-finance and wipe them out of the industry.

Banco Atlantida is also asking for

a sovereign guarantee on a $20m loan sought from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The $20m is the same which the Honduran Bank proposes for financing for cane farmers. But the question is: why does PM Barrow believe giving a Sovereign Guarantee to a foreign interest is the “better option” than providing it to our Belizean cane farmers? Flouting a nationalistic fervour, the Government has already risked $50m of Social Security and $20m of Central Bank funds to support the takeover of BTL. So why is a sovereign guarantee, offered to Banco Atlantida, too much for the cane farmers who want to keep BSI in the hands

of Belizeans?

This Banco Atlantida/BSI deal is actually Barrow’s Accommodation Agreement. It is a secret accommodation to continue pursuing its crony capitalism policy which was the driving force behind the takeover of BTL and BEL. The Government has two directors on BSI’s Board. The Prime Minister’s brother is a Board member of Altantic Bank, a local subsidiary of Banco Atlantida. It is Atlantic Bank

which carried out the majority of the feasibility study that took the Honduran bank’s interest from merely financing to ownership of the sugar factory.

Aiding and Abetting the sell out Barrow knew before BSI did that the Honduran Bank wanted to buy. He said so in February 2011, and when BSI officials were asked about it they maintained that their negotiations with the bank were solely to establish a financ-

Continued on page 9

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

THE BELIZE TIMES

What does the Constitution

of Belize mean to every Belizean?

At the moment you are guaranteed: • Fundamental rights and freedoms • Protection of right of life • Protection of right of personal liberty • Protection of law • Protection from inhumane treatment • Protection from slavery and forced labor • Protection from arbitrary search or entry • Protection of freedom of movement • Protection of freedom of expression • Protection of freedom of assembly and association • Protection of right of privacy • Protection of right to work • Protection from discrimination • Protection from deprivation of property With the passage of the 9th Constitutional Amendment, a Government with a super majority in the House of Representative (as exists now with the current administration) will have the power to change any of the above protections, and could with impunity: • • • • •

Change the grounds for citizenship Eliminate the Office of the Governor-General and make Belize a Republic Extend the term of Office then Prime Minister becomes President for life Change the composition of the House of Representatives Eliminate the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal

• Erase right to expression • Erase freedom of assembly and association Alarmist? NO! Central American and African History shows how dangerous such a constitutional change can be. The only safeguard every Belizean has is the Constitution. The passage of Amendment #9 will open the gate to the possibility of Belize becoming another “Banana Republic” ruled by a Dictator.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Emerging Markets Research | LatAm

Belize: Reasonable doubts

By Boris Segura, Nomura Global Economics July 26, 2011 The recent constitutional amendment enshrining government control over public utilities leaves several questions to be answered Ninth amendment to Belize’s constitution The Barrow administration introduced a constitutional amendment last week dealing with the government’s majority ownership and control of public utilities. The bill now enters a 90-day “cooling off” period, in which it cannot be debated by parliament.

The most relevant tenet of this amendment is that the government is to hold and maintain majority ownership (at least 51%) of the issued share capital of a public utility provider at all times. The bill defines a public utility provider as Belize Electricity Limited (BEL), Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), Belize Water Services Limited (BWS) and “any other similar entity designated as a public utility provider for the purposes of this Part by a resolution passed by the National Assembly in that behalf”.

The government’s shareholding of such a property includes any shares owned by the Social Security Board (SSB).

Even if the SSB seeks a sale of its shares, it is required to first offer the shares to the government to maintain the governmental majority ownership.

Justifying a questionable policy decision This constitutional amendment explicitly reinforces the legal standing of the recent BEL and BTL nationalizations. By declaring that the Electricity Act and the Belize Telecommunications Act and Order are lawful and indisputable in any court of law, the Barrow administration is intending to assert the legality of those actions and to implement its stance permanently in a more secure constitutional setting.

The BTL controversy provides an example. The Court of Appeals recently overturned the 2009 BTL nationalization by the Barrow administration. In response, the executive went back to parliament to re-enact a Belize Telecommunications Order, so as to legally re-nationalize BTL. The proposed excerpt of Section 69 of the Constitution states that “…a law passed

by the National Assembly to alter any of the provisions of this Constitution…shall not be open to challenge in any court of law on any ground whatsoever” Reasonable doubts As the proposed amendment allows the National Assembly to define a public utility provider, we think there are several possible targets for nationalization. The most notable is SpeedNet Communications Limited, a Belizean communications company that mostly provides mobile telephone and internet services. This venture is majority-owned by Ashcroftcontrolled companies. Ashcroftcontrolled companies such as Belize Holdings were former (and, as of yet, uncompensated) majority-owners of BTL. A more ambitious definition of “public utility” could extend beyond the distribution of electricity to include its generation as well. This could pave the way for the nationalization of BECOL, a Fortis-owned electricity generator. This would not bode well for Fortis Inc., as BEL was nationalized last month.

We still believe it would be advisable for the authorities to issue an explicit “declaration of principles”, indicating which private companies are and are not possible nationalization targets.

Based on our experience elsewhere in the region, we think that minority shareholders are unlikely to join Belize’s government to run its public utilities. We think this is a sector with substantial investment and management needs, where a private partner running the show is required.

Impact on creditworthiness We think this constitutional amendment is likely to be approved by the House of Representatives, where the official United Democratic Party (UDP) has a comfortable majority, higher than the two-thirds necessary to change the constitution.

We believe that the damage to Belize’s creditworthiness, in terms of additional contingent liabilities after the recent nationalizations, has already been done. However, we think the business environment could deteriorate further if the authorities do not explicitly declare their cessation of additional nationalizations; the recent spate of acquisitions causes reasonable doubt as to when they will end

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

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THE BELIZE TIMES

The biggest Joker in the House Belize City, July 25, 2011 To get away with the abuse of power in the House of Representatives Prime Minister Dean Barrow has been playing his deck of cards masterfully. Facing quite a lot of heat recently, King Barrow has had to rely on his Joker card to ensure that matters go his way.

The Joker pretends at the start of all House Sittings to show impartiality and basic understanding of his role. But it doesn’t take too long into the meetings for him to show how he is simply a puppet boy who plays his role well.

At last Friday’s House Sitting that Joker card was at play. He began offering apologies to Hon. Marcel Cardona for what is the most shameful and obviously criminal act in the House of Representatives. No, it wasn’t UDP Mark King walking on the rail again, and no it wasn’t UDP Kenny Morgan threatening to do something with a grenade. Neither was it the UDP PM Dean Barrow violently stoning a cup of water to the ground. It was a UDP-hired hooligan stoning Hon. Cardona, in front of the PM, the House Speaker and all news cameras.

According to the Joker, who says he is a trained attorney, he didn’t file a criminal complaint because he couldn’t contact Hon. Cardona, and he wasn’t sure if the elected UDP representative wanted to press charges. Whether his inaction is the result of his “slow brain” or he was simply not interested, it was obvious that the House Speaker did his utmost least to condemn the most disgraceful act ever in-

side the National Assembly building. The culprit merely received a slap on his wrist as he was banned from two House Sittings.

That’s all.

But tolerating such a despicable act is only a microcosm of the real problem.

Every House Sitting explodes in chaos as

UDP members snicker, shout and hurl insults across the floor. Even as the Speaker addresses the House, UDP members can be seen texting, chewing, and sleeping.

It is obvious the Speaker commands no respect.

It is the Speaker’s responsibility to regulate the business of the House, and the only times he has done so have been when he is under manipulation by his King. The Speaker is the one who shamefully allowed the Prime Minister to get away with disrespecting and embarrassing Hon. Cardona when Cardona’s seat was moved from the Government side to behind the Opposition bench. The Speaker was part and parcel of making a mockery out of the House Chambers.

Last Friday’s House Sitting was another indication of the UDP’s manipulation of their Joker. It is the Queen of Hearts Finnegan who first complained about Hon. Cardona’s wearing of a hard hat inside the House Chambers to protect himself from UDP missiles. When Finnegan

complained, the Joker stood up and said the wearing of the hard hat would not be allowed. Hon. Cardona complied.

Then just before the House meeting closed, Hon. Cardona stood up to speak on behalf of his constituents in Orange Walk East. Just as he was about to raise concerns about the pending sale of shares in Belize Sugar Industries, the Queen of Hearts Finnegan jumped up to complain again. This time he pointed to the Joker that Cardona should not be allowed to speak unless it’s a different matter than what was raised by Opposition Leader Hon. John Briceño, who had spoken before. The Joker showed little ability to think on his own as he told Hon. Cardona that he would not be allowed to continue.

Hon. Cardona insisted that his concerns were different, and was eventually allowed to speak, but he was interrupted multiple times by the Queen of Hearts who railed up bitterly that Hon. Cardona was allowed to speak. The Joker figured out that the Queen of Hearts Finnegan’s incessant bickering was more of a signal that he ought to do something, so he barred Hon. Cardona from speaking freely.

We already know that the 24 members of the UDP side are do-do birds who only sing to the tune of their leader and cannot formulate ideas or positions of their own. The least that should be expected of the Speaker is that he/she shows some guts and guide the House sessions with fairness to all.

David says: July 26, 2011 at 9:55am

Yes, to all the working class of belize (which is everybody) we should reject barrow and his plans to make Belize his. This guy is mad, he is dictating all of this. He should be asking Belizeans what to do. He is our worker not our boss.

Please Belizean this it. Open your eyes now.”

Belizean says: July 27, 2011 at 10:30am

What workers need to stop doing is putting UDP’s as worker union presidents. U ever stop to wonder why there are no civil disobedience now? The union presidents have all declared their allegiance to UDP… so they will not cause any civil disobedience. They will all walk the UDP walk…that is why this man is selling dreams to his workers, who dont understand…. were nt they suppose to meet with a lawyer to break down this thing and tell them what it is.”

WTF says: July 26, 2011

THIS AMENDMENT IS NOT ABOUT THE NATIONALIZATION OF UTILITIES. This is the old magicians trick of watch this hand while the other is doing something else. Barrow is trying to distract you with one thing but his true agenda is hidden. He does not need to change the constitution to this extent. Listen to what these Lawyers are saying..

THIS IS A NATIONAL EMERGENCY BARROW WANTS TO CHANGE THIS COUNTRY FROM A DEMOCRACY TO A DICTATORSHIP. They understand what Barrow is doing and everyone else better listen and take not.. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHAT BARROW IS PROPOSING!!! If you agree with what Barrow is doing… you are an IDIOT and don’t completely understand the issue…And if you don’t believe me…in the not to distant future….I’ll be the guy at the back of the room telling you “I TOLD YOU SO”

Posts are from www.belizetimes.bz, Belize Times Facebook Account and www.channel5belize.com

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Reid The Dean Barrow dog and pony show is fast losing traction as more and more people are seeing through the guile and subterfuge of this master of deception.

Dean Barrow is an attorney, and in the opinion of many, a fairly decent one. As leader of our country though, public opinion is much lower about Mr. Barrow and recent polls confirmed that the majority of citizens give him a very low grade in that department. The Prime Minister lost more support and credibility this past week when he convened the House to introduce a very controversial and unpopular Ninth Amendment Bill.

The Ninth Amendment proposal has drawn widespread criticism and condemnation from no less than members of the Bar Association and just about every nongovernmental group. The Human Rights Commission has flatly rejected the proposal as “dangerous” and many consider it a quantum step to dictatorship. In an effort to appease the anger of the people, the Prime Minister announced that he would be putting the preventative detention bill in the “refrigerator”. Many believe that that is not enough and that preventative detention as well as Ninth Amendment should instead be dumped into the deepest arctic pit and never again be allowed to see the light of consideration. In the process, we might see fit to find space in that very pit for a few of these dimwits who currently sit in Cabinet.

What struck many as interesting was a revelation by the Prime Minister that he had been threatened with physical harm over preventative detention. A story in one of the weekend papers suggested that it was one of the Prime Minister’s own high energy gang-leaders that had sent a text message advising him not to table that bill for reading. If this is true, then one has to wonder who is really running this country. Is Mr. Barrow only brave when protected by parliamentary privileges and is all that tough talk just toothless bravado? Was preventative detention shelved because of public outrage or because of a private threat? Inquiring minds wants to know!

While the Ninth Amendment Bill garnered much attention, the big issue of the day was the news of an impending sale of our Belize Sugar Industry (BSI) to a Honduran bank. Many consider this stark, yet typical Dean Barrow hypocrisy, given the man’s recent rhetoric about nationalization and standing up for the Belizean people. The Belize Sugar Industry is directly responsible for the livelihood of some 48 thousand Belizeans, a full one sixth of our population. If there was ever a good cause and justification for interceding in the “best interest of Belizeans”, this would be it!

In November of 2010, Belizeans both red and blue stood together in rare solidarity and approved a bail out of the sugar industry. At the time, Leader of the Opposition Johnny Briceño stood and warned that while he did not object, the Prime Minister should recognize that said investment would offer but temporary relief. Mr. Briceño advised that immediate steps must be taken to provide for a longer term solution and predicted that if we didn’t, in a few months even more money would be needed.

The Prime Minister chose to ignore Briceño’s warnings and flatly denied any possibility of future default. In an interview with Love News on February 22nd of this year and apparently speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister, Joey Motalvo, managing director of BSI made the following comments, “We heard the leader of the Opposition saying that BSI will require $30 million by the end of March and that we were hoping to obtain this from Tate and Lyle otherwise we would again be facing a financial crisis. I want to dismiss that it is simply not true; there is no such situation ahead…”

Yet in a statement in the House on Friday, the Prime Minister himself told Belizeans that BSI is now not only in need of 30 million but in fact in the red for $60 million US dollars plus the ten million loaned from Social Security. According to the Amandala, if BSI cannot get another bailout by the end of September then it would be facing foreclosure. Now really folks, who was telling the truth and who was lying?

According to the Prime Minister, Banco Atlantida is the only game in town; in other words, BSI employees must sell or lose everything. In his presentation to the House, the Prime Minister spoke plenty but said very little. He spent most of his time on personal attacks against Johnny Briceño and attempting to bedazzle and impress those of his rented audience in the gallery. They might have been entertained but for the rest of us, Mr. Barrow’s tactics have grown stale and humdrum. We accept that Mr. Barrow is intelligent, articulate and well read. He is smart, very smart but maybe too smart for our good. The Prime Minister uses his ad hominem and straw men fallacies to duck and dodge but at the end of day, the problems still linger. The BTL and BEL issues are far from resolved, the citrus industry remains in turmoil, the bus industry is a mess, healthcare continues to fail and education woes continue as Patrick Faber attacks the Catholics in favor of the Anglicans. Our cities and towns are the dirtiest they have ever been while streets and roads deteriorate to a deplorable state. Basic food items become scarce and unaffordable to most Belizeans while the Barrow family and cronies drink champagne and laugh.

Since assuming office, this Barrow administration has gone from weak to weaker and from week to week the situation becomes more dismal. We need performance Mr. Barrow, not empty rhetoric. We need action, not simply talk. We need real and tangible progress not just smoke screens and imagination. We need strong sound argument not just fallacies to explain away your lunacy. We are no long amused, Mr. Barrow, it is time to lead or leave. It is time to s-it or get off the pot!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

In my perspective…

Take your hands off BSI!

By Rayford Young Growing up with my parents, brothers and sisters in Libertad, Corozal was indeed a joy and a very good life. My father, Emmanuel Vincent Young, started to work at the Corozal Sugar Factory (CSF) as a laborer. At that time very few machinery was available so mostly everything was done by man power. But men were men back then and they were not afraid of work. My father and many hard working men from Corozal Town and the surrounding villages built the CSF with their rough hands and lots of sweat. The CSF began operations in Prembroke Hall in 1935. At that time the cane was fed manually into the mill, producing an average of 1,200 tons of sugar per year until 1954 when they had enough foreign capital to improve the factory.

Then production rose to 25,816 tons in 1962.

In 1963 Tate & Lyle bought CSF and with that came expansion to increase production. In 1966 the name was changed to Belize Sugar Industry Ltd. During this time Tate & Lyle was looking for a new site to build a modern factory and in 1967 it was completed in the Orange Walk District. It began an annual yield of 25,000 tons of sugar and the Belize Sugar Factory in Corozal increased their production to 38,320, totaling 63,320. Unfortunately, fluctuation in world prices and later reduction in the U.S. quota caused a financial crisis which ended in the closure of the Corozal Sugar Factory Ltd. My experience with the factory was just before and during the Tate & Lyle tenor. We lived in Prembroke Hall where the factory was located. Later Prembroke Hall was changed to Libertad. There were hundreds of people living and working in Libertad. Bars, clubs and grocery stores were everywhere. Corozal Town, where most of the people lived, was booming and the villages along the way were also booming. Things were good. People from all over the country came north for work.

By that time my father worked his way up to chief engineer of the factory. Because of his position we moved to Santa Cruz where all the big shots lived. In 1963 when Tate & Lyle bought CSF the first thing they did was to send a lot of English men to the factory. They held all the top jobs, even though they had very little experience with this kind of sugar mill. They had to depend on the local workforce like my dad to make the factory work. And it did. The

factory was making money. So much so that these English men had a great life working at BSI - big homes, manicured lawns, swimming pool. Managers and the financial people lived there and they all had company vehicles and free gasoline. The General Manager at that time had three maids, a butler, three company vehicles and a chauffeur. Life was good.

The Young family moved to Santa Cruz with these people and pretended we knew about this kind of life style all along. We enjoyed the good life.

This is what I know of BSI-Corozal.

All of my family had opportunity for a good education because of BSI and are now productive citizens. Not only the Young family prospered as a result of the factory but thousands of families and farmers had a pay check every Friday.

People in Corozal and the surrounding villages’ standard of living went up significantly. Businesses were successful. We were all happy.

So when I read in the BELIZE TIMES that the BSI sugar factory in Tower Hill, Orange Walk, was almost bankrupt I was saddened indeed. But what was even more outrageous is the humbled Chief Executive Officer of BSI, Joey Montalvo, scrambling to the steps of the Prime Minister’s Office to beg for assistance! What was he thinking? After the forceful takeover of Telemedia and Belize Electricity Limited, why would Mr. Montalvo even consider this move? I also read that representatives of Banco Atlantida, a Honduran based bank and parent company of Atlantic Bank in Belize, visited Belize, toured and met with BSI executives and with GoB to discuss their interest in purchasing 81% of BSI’s shares belonging to Belize Employee Holding (BEH), which includes both hourly paid workers and staff held through an employee’s trust.

In my opinion, the Barrow administration and the Honduran bank is not the answer... the answer is the “us”. The people and businesses of Belize can solve this problem. The Cane farmers and BSI workers, Belize banks, Belize businesses and corporations and yes, even the public could buy out or merge BSI to assure the company remains viable for all those that invested in BSI, and for the continued economic growth of Orange Walk and Corozal districts. Everyone can have a stake in its future.

We do not need the Barrow Administration. As with past forceful takeovers, they will appoint one of their cronies or family members and screw up BSI. This company is too important to this country and the people of this area to have incompetent bureaucrats come and finish off BSI. Not now, not this time. Take your hands off BSI! Every time I visit Belize I pay my respects to the old closed BSI-Libertad. No, it will not return to the glory days but I remember what those now idle rusty iron pipes did for this area and hundreds of families and businesses. It is now our time to return the favor.

Where do I send my check…?

Rayford Young is a Belizean-American, who currently lives in Michigan, U.S.A.

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Sunday, July 31, 2011

THE BELIZE TIMES

Why Are Churches Empty?

There are many reasons why churches are empty today. The very fact that we refer to the building as a ‘church’ is evidence of a serious problem. A name is a very important thing. Your name defines who you are. I remember in school as a young boy being called “silly Billy” or when they wanted to shorten it just “silly”. That was my pet name until I reached high school. I hated my name and was upset with my parents for giving it to me! All through the primary school years I lived up to my name. I was silly. I got into many fights because of my name.

It wasn’t until I became an adult and began studying the meaning of names that I found out mine meant ‘strength’! Immediately I began to see the strength in my character, in my steadfastness, and in my ethical inclinations. Now I love my name and think its unique! What is your name? What does it mean? I believe the same internal ability and sensing that Adam used to name all the animals is the same reservoir that parents of today tap into when naming a child. So your name is not just a name then, but a description of who you are. Whenever someone calls you by it they are describing you.

As we look in the manual (Bible), no where can we find the physical building being called church but rather it was called a temple or house.

Today somehow we have muddied everything by calling a building the church. As I said before your name defines you or something about you and the minute you hear it many things should begin to pop up in your head. I have a good friend for example who is into the repairing of cars.

He studies and reads material for years and yet continues to read to the point where he has mastered, or conquered, or to put a different way he has dominion over cars! Because of the level of his skills I refer to him as Doctor! Each time I say the word doctor I am referring to not only his accomplishments but to the way I perceive him!

As the word doctor brings a certain picture in your mind, what picture does the word church bring? I remember being asked the other day “You go da church?” My answer was no. See I don’t go to church, although I do go to a building to hang out with friends and family. Many refer to that building as church but I say to you that if that building burns down the church would still exist. I don’t go to church I am the church!

Now to avoid giving you the wrong impression let me explain what church is. Church is evidence of a political system. Not a democracy, or socialist, or dictatorship but evidence of a kingdom! In other words the minute you hear the word church it means a kingdom is not far away.

For example in Belize the minute you hear the word Governor General it means a kingdom is not far away with a King or Queen and this person (G.G) represents those royalties! In-fact the purpose of a governor general fully explains the purpose of the church since they are one and the same!

In the past when a kingdom defeated a nation they would kill everyone and take the spoils. The Roman Empire changed this and rather sent governors to teach the new nation how to be like and become a “franchise”, if you will, of Rome! These governors were meticulously handpicked or called out based on their ability to represent the kingdom, and were then sent to the colony to colonize it into the culture of the Kingdom of Rome! This is what church means. It means Ecclesiastes or the called out ones. It is not a building but a people or a set of ‘governor generals’ handpicked, authorized, and paid by the kingdom of God to colonize earth or teach earth the culture of heaven! This is why it says in the Lord’s Prayer “Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!”

Calling a building ‘church’ is simply religion at its highest form and is the first reason why many churches are empty.

Stay tuned next week as I dig a little deeper, coming from a completely different angle, in my attempt to explain why the churches are empty!

Until next week God bless!

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Sunday, July 31, 2011

THE BELIZE TIMES

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BEL erects

for Joe & Darrelitas Belize City, July 27, 2011 When the Government of Belize effected its “takeover” of Belize Electricity Ltd. (BEL) on June 21, 2011, there was one big celebration under the UDP tent as Barrow & Co. had acquired yet another “cash cow”.

One of the leading spin doctors behind the “BEL Takeover” campaign was the fescennine co-host of the “Wus Ting Da Maanin” show, Joe Bradley. “Lackey” is Joe’s favorite word. The irony, however, is that Joe Bradley is the biggest “lackey” in town. Like a mangy “patlika”, Joe could be heard everyday singing for his supper. Well, evidently, Joe’s singing has earned him a feast and not just supper. Everyone knows of his second job at the Belize City Council, a high-paid job which he doesn’t report to until 11:00 o’clock every morning following his appearance on the disgraceful excuse of a radio show.

Now, as a reward for his “Take Over BEL” cheer, this shameless UDP cheerleader is now reaping the benefits. A lamppost has been erected directly in front of his house. Yup, you read right, an entire lamppost just for Joe Bradley’s house. What is interesting to note is that Joe’s son and Belize City Mayoral Candidate for the UDP, Darrel “Darrelitas” Bradley, resides at the same house.

We all know when it comes to Papa Joe, there’s no shame in his game but it appears that when it comes to the two Bradleys, it’s a classic case of “like father, like son”. This morning “Darrelitas”, cheered on by Papa Joe, tried in earnest to sell himself as “the choice” for Mayor. Come on “Darrelitas”, have you no shame?

How could you want to be the Mayor of our City when together with your foul-mouthed dad, you’re going to support the erection of a “private lamppost” on a “public street”. How could you when there are many areas in our City covered in darkness because of a lack of lampposts? How could you when the residents of Belama Phase IV and residents of neighborhoods across the Southside of this City are forced to create illegal and hazardous electrical connections in order that their children can do homework at night? The nerve of you to even want us to consider you for Mayor of our City. We’ll be sure to remind you of the “private lamppost” when you visit our homes on the campaign trail.

Since Feb. 2008, Dean Barrow and the UDP have shown us that they are “faysi” and will do whatever they so wish and to hell with the

rest of us. Our readers will recall the “faysinis” of John Saldivar in taking a water well drilling rig (public work equipment) to dig out a well at his residence in Belmopan.

Joe and “Darrelitas” weren’t satisfied with the lighting on their street.

Oh no, they had to get themselves their own personal lamppost for their fancy house. What’s next, their own telecommunication tower and/ or water treatment plant?

While the Bradleys receive special treatment from the UDP-run BEL, the BELIZE TIMES has been reliably informed that a total of nine (9) employees have already been fired. This is even as the Deputy Prime Mnister, “Gapi” Vega, in replying to the UDP’s

chief propagandist, Jules Vasquez’s question about job security, stated, “I don’t think they need to worry about that. The government is quite certain that the people that are working for this company has the best interest of the company and they have been here for some time and we definitely don’t expect to have any changes unless they themselves want to do that”.

Someone ought to cut out Gapi’s lying tongue.

Joe and “Darrelitas” should really be careful about wanting more light than they already have. In the Bible, it says, “What is done in the dark will come to light”. With increased lighting, the residents of Belama may very well know now about the father and son’s “nocturnal activities”.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Barrow threatens Court’s constitutional role Continued from page 4

Less than a year after they won their first election, Dean Barrow and the United Democratic Party started the demolition of the Constitution of Belize. Dean Barrow was the Attorney General back then, and as he is now, the architect and mastermind behind the repressive constitutional changes.

In 1985, when he spearheaded the first chipping away of our Constitution, he did it by bastardizing our Belizean identity and heritage. He permitted foreigners to buy Belizean citizenship, only four years after Belize became an independent country.

A few years later in 1988, Barrow and the UDP violated our Constitution again, inserting of all things in the Constitution of a country, a spying branch of the police force.

That Barrow is the only UDP Minister still around from the terrible 1984-1989 and 1993– 1998 era is not to be lost.

It is a confirmation that he is the driving force behind the venom and evil that has consumed the UDP whenever they are in power.

As soon as Barrow returned to power in 2008, with his super-majority in the House, he continued with the destruction of the Constitution of Belize; hell bent this time around to place himself as the Supreme Law of the land.

Barrow started first with his 6th Constitutional Amendment. This was a bundle of amendments that watered down the independence of the Court of Appeal judges and also saw the first

attempt at enacting the draconian preventative detention in our country. The bundle that made up the 6th amendment also took away some very important powers from the Senate. The only progressive thing in the 6th Constitutional Amendment- the 13th SenatorBarrow has refused to bring into law because he wants to be Supreme.

Then a year later there was the 7th Constitutional Amendment, another ill thought out set of constitutional amendments. Then he wanted to allow foreigners who acquired Belizean nationality to run for elected office.

Then in May of this year, he introduced the 8th Amendment; again a bundle of ill-conceived repressive and backward amendments, the most wretched being preventative detention. Barrow has now backed off from these as the Belizean public has seen these for what they are: oppressive tools of the state to silence and eliminate its critics.

And last Friday, not having yet proceeded with the 8th Amendment into law, Barrow in a crazy fit introduced the 9th Amendment to take Belize fully into Dictatorship.

The only way to stop Barrow is to take a stand against the constitutional proposal. A public consultation is being planned for Wednesday August 10th for Belizeans to have their say.

The time and venue of the event have not been announced, but it may be the only chance for Belizeans to put some sense into Dictator Barrow. Say no to constitutional amendment number 9!

Gas prices near $12.00 Continued from page 1

The $1.00 tax was imposed in 2009, and the Prime Minister had promised that if gas prices went beyond $8.00, he would roll back the tax in view that it would be creating hardships on consumers. Everyone is still waiting.

A higher Import Duty replaced General Sales Tax on fuel in March of this year.

Back breaking gas prices Businesses, as small as taxis to large corporations such as Belize Sugar Industries, rely on fuel consumption. A spike in prices affects not only the common man driving to and from work, but also major industries in the productive sector.

Government’s manipulation of its taxation policy on fuel could actually be favourable for commuters and the industries that rely on it.

The change in March from GST to Import Duty, for example, was seen as a financial loss for businesses that sell fuel. With GST, businesses are granted a reimbursement at the end of the financial year. Its removal meant no more reimbursements for those businesses, everything goes to GOB. Corporation vs. consumers The importation and sale of fuel is

a major cash cow for the Government of Belize. In 2010 GOB collected $65 million in revenues from fuel taxes at the local pumps.

Compare that to the $67.1m GOB collected from its taxes on the production and sale of crude oil from Belize Natural Energy (BNE), the only oil producing company in Belize. BNE’s earns over $500m in revenue annually.

The Government has been heavily criticised for milking consumers, while dealing with BNE with kid gloves. Apart from the revenue GOB collects from the production of crude oil, it also has in place a windfall tax which kicks in only when crude oil prices on the world market reaches US$90 per barrel. Critics say the tax floor is too low, and should be lowered, in order not to forego millions of much-needed revenue.

The Government has also not been transparent with its handling of the Petrocaribe deal, through which the Republic of Venezuela provides refined fuel in exchange for goods and services.

It is reported that some of the Petro fuel is deviated to certain gas stations, which are privately owned by persons closely connected with the Barrow Administration. The cheap fuel is sold at the regular market price.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

NEW CHIEF JUSTICE Belmopan, 26th July, 2011.

A new Chief Justice will officially take office on September 15, 2011, to fill the vacancy left by former Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh since September last year.

The new C.J. is Justice Kenneth A. Benjamin.

Justice Benjamin is of Guyanese/Antiguan nationality. He has practiced at the Bar in Guyana. He has worked as a Magistrate and then Chief Magistrate

in 1991 – 1993 in Antigua and Barbuda. Justice Benjamin has held the positions as a High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court as well as acted as a Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. His last post was that of practicing Judge of the Criminal Division of the High Court of Saint Lucia, a position which he held since September 2007.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 31, 2011