8 JAN
2017
17
THE BELIZE TIMES
WHO PAYS THE PIPER?
By: Mike Rudon Jr. I don’t generally write much anymore. I tend to offend way too many people. I don’t like many politicians and in my line of work that’s not necessarily a safety net, if you know what I mean. But I came out of my hole this week because I got really pissed off at a friend this weekend and it kinda got my panties in a bunch. It was a simple comment on FB, that miraculous social media creature which instantly transforms all of us into experts at everything – just four little words. WHO PAYS THE PIPER?! My friend was referring to the situation with the BNTU and the Ministry of Education. There has been unprecedented confusion because the Ministry insists that teachers should return to school on January 3rd to make amends for their eleven days on strike. Many teachers, along with the BNTU and managing authorities, claim that the Ministry does not have the authority to issue any such instructions, so those teachers will be guided by the previously set schedule and will return to classes on January 9th. Should be easy to resolve, but it’s not. And that has left a whole lot of parents and students in a kind of limbo. Some schools opened on Monday, many didn’t. Some opened and had to close after teachers didn’t show up. At some schools teachers showed up but students didn’t. You see the situation, right? Okay so like everything else on this little piece of earth, it’s become political, conveniently so for the UDP. Rather than accept that people are just fed up of all the corrupt bullshit, they want to believe that the villainous PUP is behind the teachers’ stance. They believe that Luke Palacio, like a black Moses, is solely fixated on parting the red sea because he is allegedly a PUP – no other reason. The rabid fanatics, and they are very few, seem content to wallow in the rancid corruption of some of our politicians in government. They seem to think its fine. They seem to think all is well. But I digress. To the PIPER! So
in a post on FB insisting that school should open on Monday as per the Ministry’s instructions, my friend threw out the snide question – WHO PAYS THE PIPER? - to bolster her assertion that the Ministry aka the Government aka the UDP can call the tune because they are paying the pipers, whom I assume are the teachers. She is an educated woman, a teacher herself, but regrettably also a politician. That seemingly innocuous but very revealing question - WHO PAYS THE PIPER…? It should have a very obvious and immediate answer. Who pays the piper? Well, certainly not any Minister or CEO or politician – we’re forgetting something very vital and important here. See, how this works is like this. Politicians decide, for good or bad reason that they want to represent the people. They come to ask us for the job. We weigh them and if they are not too evidently wanting, we offer them the job for a limited time. We pay them. We pay their salaries with all perks and allowances. We pay for their offices and vehicles and homes and mistresses. We pay for all the decisions these politicians make, good or bad. We pay when the Minister of Education gets drunk and his vehicle goes swimming. We pay all of it. They work for us. Even Mr. Barrow works for us. We pay him and we pay all his family members who have become millionaires. We bought Mr. Vega his farm near Carmelita. We paid for every member of his family who got filthy rich. We pay now, and our children will pay and their children will pay. See my problem is this, and it really pisses me off. When these fools get into power, they get into POWER. Suddenly they don’t work for us anymore. And although we pay them, they don’t answer to us. They steal from us. They get rich off us. They abuse us. They victimize us. They take our money and kick us in the collective ass. They are omnipotent. Eventually when we fire them, they’ll all be rich and we’ll be screwed. And we keep paying and paying and paying… So my friend! You want to know who pays the piper, and who calls the tune? It’s not who you seem to think. WE PAY THE PIPER. WE CALL THE TUNE. It would be good if you politicians would remember that. Okay I feel better now!
NOTICE Application for a Moneylender’s Certificate I, BASSEM HUSSEIN CHAKAROUN, hereby give notice that I have applied to the Magistrates’ Court sitting at Belize City, for a renewal certificate to be granted to me under the Moneylenders Act, Chapter 260 to authorize me to carry on business as a Moneylender in the name of JEWELRY EXCHANGE CENTER LTD. 4552 Youth for the Future Drive, Belize City, Belize.
NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the below companies have been dissolved and struck off the International Business Companies Register with effect from the date indicated: COMPTOM PROPERTIES LIMITED – December 30th, 2016 I.T.C. LIMITED – January 3rd, 2017
Belize Corporate Services Limited Registered Agent
NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the below companies have been dissolved and struck off the International Business Companies Register with effect from the 31st day of December, 2016: NICOIN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED ZAGALIA ENTERPRISES LTD. ALEMAN, CORDERO, GALINDO & LEE TRUST (BELIZE) LIMITED
For Sale
By Order of the Mortgagee Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., a company duly registered under the Companies Act, Chapter 250 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered office at Cor. Albert and Bishop Streets, Belize City, Belize, hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of sale as Mortgagee under a Deed of Mortgage made the 11th day of April 2005, between GREGORY ALMENDAREZ of Independence Village, Stann Creek District (hereinafter called “the Borrower”) of the one part and SCOTIABANK (BELIZE) LIMITED (hereinafter called “the Mortgagee”) of the other part, and recorded in Deeds Book Volume 11 of 2005 at Folios 615-680, the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd. will at the expiration of two months from the date of the first publication of this notice sell the property described in the schedule hereto. All offers to purchase the said property must be made in writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained from the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd. SCHEDULE ALL THAT piece or parcel of land containing 366.181 sq. meters and being Lot No. 300 situate in Independence Village, Stann Creek District as shown and described on a Plan of survey attached to Minister’s Fiat Grant No. 804 of 2003 and lodge at the Lands Title Unit Belmopan TOGETHER with all building and erections standing and being thereon. TOGETHER with all buildings and erections standing and being thereon. DATED this 1st day of December, 2016. MUSA & BALDERAMOS LLP 91 North Front Street Belize City Attorneys-at-Law for Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.