Belize Times July 17, 2016 by Belize Times Press

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The Belize Times

Established 1957

17 JULY 2016 | ISSUE NO: 5002

The Truth Shall Make You Free

www.belizetimes.bz | $1.00

BARROW BROKE THE LAW?? ILLEGAL USE OF $350 MILLION PLUS $550 MILLION? Belize City, July 13, 2016 Did the Prime Minister of Belize commit a criminal offence when he was secretly spending and abusing millions of dollars from the Petro Caribe funds? Under the Finance and Audit (Reform) Act of 2012 an Amendment states “……every person who contravenes or knowingly permits or suffers any other person to contravene or instigates any person to contravene any provision of this

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Dean Barrow

Rodwell Williams

PUP STANDS STRONG IN VILLAGE COUNCIL ELECTIONS

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2011 MURDER TRIAL CRUMBLES Pg. 10

‘BUZZARD’ MURDERED ON PLUES STREET

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Where is the Big Deal!!

Denys Barrow

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GUAT CIVILIANS ASSERT “OWNERSHIP” OF SARSTOON

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412 DAYS SINCE BARROW LOST THE SARSTOON

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OPINION OUT True Hope for Belize

Dear Editor, I have to take the opportunity this week to express my deepest appreciation to the people of the People’s United Party – and I mean all of you, all of us who fought in the trenches during the past six weeks of Village Council elections. In the end the PUP emerged victorious in 40% of those communities, but the figures aren’t the most important thing. What was important, and is important, is the story of battle in the trenches of a Party united and a people who have new hope in their hearts. The people of our great Party were fighting against all odds. Week after week we saw the government using all their resources against us. We saw powerful UDP ministers trying to intimidate voters. We saw money passing hands. We saw government vehicles providing support for the UDP slates and carrying voters to the polling stations. We saw the usual promises and threats which have come to symbolize every election under this corrupt UDP government. They have everything at their disposal but still they could not break the PUP’s spirit. Across the country the PUP was able to break down traditionally UDP strongholds in Orange Walk North, South and East. In the West the valiant soldiers of the PUP shook the foundations of the arrogant UDPs and won significant victories in Cayo Northeast, Cayo South, Cayo North and Cayo Central. In the Belize River Valley the people stood up against the corruption of Clear the Land Castro. In the

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17 JUL

THE BELIZE TIMES

OUT

South the PUP blew them away. I think there are two major things at play. One – the most important one – is that the PUP has new energy, new hope and new PASSION. I saw it on full display in Orange Walk and other places across the country. I saw the blue machine oiled and ready and working. When our Party is working together and is galvanized, there is no political force which can defeat us. It was an amazing thing to see PUPs young and old, from all walks of life working hand in hand to achieve something important for us, but bigger than that – something important for our country. And there’s another thing. The people have gotten enough of the UDP. It’s as simple as that. I sincerely believe that this bogus BTL settlement was the last straw. As a people we have been saddled with $550 MILLION in debt because of Dean Barrow. That’s bad, but then he takes ALL OF US for fools and tells us that it’s a good thing and we should be happy and even grateful to the UDP. Besides that the people now realize that under this UDP it is only the Barrows that get filthy rich. Nothing is better for any of us and the best only came for them. All of Mr. Barrow’s friends and family got rich during this UDP term. All the Vegas became much, much richer during this UDP term. As we went from village to village talking to the people we could see how discouraged they are and how frustrated they have become with the UDP. Many of the villages which voted PUP over the past weeks are traditionally UDP but they want a change. They know that under this UDP they haven’t seen any development in their village. They have heard the promises but those promises never came true. So they decided to do the right thing and booted out the UDP. Finally I want to tell my Party Leader, Hon. John Briceño a heartfelt thank you. He is a man who doesn’t lead from an office. He travelled from one corner of this country to the next meeting with residents of the remotest areas. He stayed at the front lines doing what needed to be done because that is the type of leader he is. We appreciate you, Party Leader, and the people will continue to stand beside you. Signed, Mayor Kevin Bernard Orange Walk Town

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Orange Walk Town Council Hard at Work!

Dear Editor,

I must speak on behalf of my town and mayor. I can sincerely say how upset I am at how this government has treated our beloved town and district as a whole. The Orange Walk Town Council asked for help from Central Government to assist in dealing with staggering debts left by past UDP administrations. They asked for any assistance they could get and were ignored. They tried the Ministries of Finance, Works, Local Government and even the Office of the Prime Minister. But the truth is simple. Once the UDP is not in charge of the municipality, the UDP Central Government will not help. I’m not the only one saying it. I remember Prime Minister Dean Barrow saying it when he came to Orange Walk just before the last municipal elections. He told the people that if they wanted anything to be done in the town, they would have to vote in the UDP. Imagine that, from the leader of this country. But you know what? The people still voted followed their minds and didn’t give in to that false promise. They trusted Mayor Bernard and his team to do the right thing and to continue to work for them as they have been doing all along. And I am proud – very proud of what he has been able to achieve through proper management of OUR tax money, hard work and the support of the community, always willing to lend a helping hand to see us continue to grow and develop. There is no better feeling than to look around and see what Mayor Bernard has been able to do working TOGETHER with our community. The Mayor of Belize City enjoys a huge subsistence payment from Central Government and has received millions in assistance and grants and bailouts. He also got permission to launch a municipal bond in the tens of millions. The Mayor of Belmopan just announced his own multi-million dollar bond approved by Cabinet. And that is in addition to millions being spent in that municipality through the Belize Road Safety project. I am happy for them because in the end the work is for the people of Belize.

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With all that, I can tell you that Orange Walk town is doing its thing without the benefits of any grants or assistance or bonds. Just look around. The Mayor has launched a massive project which will see the complete paving of ten major streets. And that is in addition to the ongoing works program. Currently they are working on San Francisco Street which had gotten worn down. San Andres Street is being prepared simultaneously with Bethias Lane so that when paving commences, all three streets will be done, including the second coating on Oleander Street. The Council is also doing remedial work on Stadium Street. You can see the work being done Bethias Lane, San Andres Street, Santa Ana Street, Tate Street, Arthur Street, Cinderella Street, Orchid Drive, Muñoz Lane, Progress Street – and in early January the Council will be placing another coat of chip-seal on Bakers and Main Streets. The Mayor and Council have been able to do all this including drainage, social programs, sanitation, maintenance and beautification of parks and playgrounds and so much more because they have earned the trust and support of the community they serve. The Council has been a transparent and accountable Council which has always included us the people in the decisions they make and in the work that they do. As a proud resident of our town, I continue to be proud and grateful of the teamwork which has characterized this Council’s years in office. I am confident that Mayor Kevin Bernard will continue to work for you. That remains his commitment always. I too believe that he is the future for our town as a representative. Actions speak louder than any amount of words and I can sincerely say that Mayor Bernard has put his efforts wholeheartedly for the benefit of us all. Keep up the splendid job Mayor!!! Signed,

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The Belize Times

Established 1957

14 APR 2013

ISSUE NO: 4840

The Truth Shall Make You Free

www.belizetimes.bz

$1.00

serving Belize since 1957 as the longest continuous newspaper. Founder: Rt. Hon. George Cadle Price, People’s United Party Leader Emeritus EDITOR

Alberto Vellos LAYOUT/GRAPHIC ARTIST

Chris Williams

OFFICE ASSISTANT

Roberto Peyrefitte Printed and Published By TIMES NEWSPAPER LTD. Tel: 671-8385 #3 Queen Street P.O. BOX 506 Belize City, Belize

27 Mar Jul 619 Feb

Email: belizetimesadvertisement@yahoo.com

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17 JUL

2016

THE BELIZE TIMES

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BARROW BROKE THE LAW?? ILLEGAL USE OF $350 MILLION PLUS $550 MILLION? Continued from page 1 Act or any regulations made thereunder, SHALL be guilty of an offence and SHALL be liable on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and term of imprisonment”. The Constitution of Belize and the Finance and Audit Act makes it mandatory for public funds to be safeguarded by doing certain things. All monies, such as Petro Caribe monies must be deposited in the Consolidated Revenue Fund and must be checked and protected by the Accountant General and the Auditor General. If there is a specific purpose for using public monies, there must be special deposits into a Development Fund. Permission must be obtained from the National Assembly. Spending of public monies for any project must be done by open, public tendering. There are many other procedures. None of the legal requirements were followed by Prime Minister Dean Barrow when he started to squander and abuse the Petro Caribe monies. We ask the question. Did the Prime Minister act criminally and illegally when he was doing what he did from 2012 to 2015 when he hastily passed a law to protect himself from police and court action. Is it illegal and unethical for the Prime Minister to have taken over BTL in 2009 and not pay for it for seven years, but in the meantime appoint his own son Anwar Barrow to be the boss when he has no qualifications for such an important job? Is it not the heights of nepotism for Prime Minister Dean Barrow to allow his son to pay himself some thirty thousand dollars each week even though he is unqualified and the job was never advertised? Is it illegal under government laws for the Prime Minister to allow his son to decide on contracts for telephones, cell-phones and BTL equipment without any government oversight as is required by the law government public departments and agencies? Is it breaching the law that require any contract to be done by public tenders and Anwar Barrow, Nat Vasquez and other politically appointed persons to enter into contracts such as LG4 for forty million dollars’ contract? Is the Prime Minister breaking the law, not to mention acting unethical, when he hires his brother Denys Barrow to do legal work and charge the taxpayers one thousand dollars an hour when the government has a whole department of

qualified lawyers at the Solicitor General’s office? Did the Prime Minister break the law when he paid out millions of dollars to his ex-wife Lois Young to do legal work which should have been done by the Solicitor General’s office and should have been put to public tender? Did the Prime Minister break the law when he misled Belizeans that he was going to Miami in September 2015 for medical treatment and instead secretly visited Michael Ashcroft in a hotel where he signed a secret contract to pay out half a billion dollars as compensation for initially stealing BTL in contravention of the acquisition law? Does a Prime Minister have the authority to sign such a secret contract for such a large amount of public expenditure without getting the prior authority from the National Assembly? Can any Prime Minister attend a secret meeting and sign a secret contract for half of one billion dollars? Why was not such a meeting held in Belmopan with the Financial Secretary and Accountant General in attendance? Did the Prime Minister violate the law and failed to protect public funds when he intentionally or negligently signed to allow an accommodation agreement to be included in the secret contract, knowing that this would cost Belize more than one hundred million dollars? Is it not a violation of the Finance and Audit Act for the Prime Minister even now to be pulling out almost two hundred million dollars to pay Mr. Ashcroft when the National Assembly has given no approval to such expenditure? Is it illegal and/or unethical for the Prime Minister to have his law partner Rodwell Williams sign as a witness to a government document and in particular such a monstrous document as the secret contract in September which condemns Belize to pay half a billion dollars as well as million in legal fees to private lawyers? Is the document itself legal without being authorized by the House of Representatives and the Senate before it is signed and it is not witnessed by the proper public officers in the Ministry of Finance or Accountant General department? In looking at the legality, possible criminality and the ethical behaviour of Prime Minister Dean Barrow let one other question be included: who gave Prime Minister Dean Barrow authority to instruct the Belize Coastguard to surrender the Sarstoon Island to Guatemala on the 29 May 2015? Who is above the law and is so big and bad that they can secretly agree to spend million without prior approval of the National Assembly and at the same time conduct himself so as to be accused of treason in allowing Guatemala to exercise their laws on Belize territory in the Sarstoon River?

Where is the Big Deal!! Belize City, July 12, 2016 With gun violence erupting over the past weeks, and reports of murder after murder from gang rivalries and gun violence filling up the evening news and gripping our community with fear, one must ask the where is the Minister of National Security John Saldivar and why is he so silent over the terrible situation in our country? Just two short months ago, ahead of a political convention for a big position in the UDP, Saldivar couldn’t help himself as he hogged up every possible chances to be on the television every night. He was all over the country meeting UDP delegates and had television ads ad naseaum, with campaign songs and jingles that advertised the slogan “The Big Deal”. Saldivar was backed by a senior Ministerial team of cheerleaders who preached to anyone that Saldivar is the man who will solve the nation’s growing problems. Well, where is the big deal now? Where is Saldivar when the crime level in our country is reaching imploding levels? Where is Saldivar when the blood of our young, mostly black Belizeans is spilled on our streets, both day and night, because of ongoing clashes between gang members? Where is the Big Deal when the Police Departments throughout the country are lacking basic equipment to carry out their work properly? Police are dire need of vehicles and man-power. They cry out but their big deal boss doesn’t hear them out. Obviously it was all just a show for political gain. The big deal ain’t nowhere to be seen why the streets of Belize City spiral into terror. The Big Deal appears unable to recover from the licking put on him by the one who called himself the “Real Deal”. But whether big or real, neither of the two has provided the right opportunities to our young people to become productive citizens. For them when it comes helping our people meaningfully, there is no deal.

‘Buzzard’ Murdered on Plues Street Wednesday, July 13, 2016 Police have few leads in the brutal murder of popular security guard Kariem Hafiya, 40. Hafiya, affectionately known as ‘Buzzard’ had just left his post at NICH after working the overnight shift, and had arrived at his apartment on Plues Street at around 4:00am when he was shot to death by an unknown gunman. Police recovered as many as 15 expended shells in the area, though they would not confirm how many shots hit Hafiya. Gang tensions have escalated in past months and have resulted in continuous bloodshed in the city, but Police say that they have no reason to suspect that this killing is related to ongoing gang warfare. Hafiya was not known to have any gang affiliations. But the murder could have been committed by players involved in gangs. Street sources tell the BELIZE TIMES that “Buzzard,’ who loved to hang out at the Baaba Shop on Orange Street, had been robbed two weeks ago and his report to Police had resulted in the robber being remanded. ACP Chester Williams, Commander of Eastern Division South, explained that “the perpetrator of that crime is currently in prison. That is one angle we are looking at. The next angle we are looking at is the fact that we have been made to understand that he had a dispute with a female and the female may have made some threats.” While Police look for a killer, colleagues, friends and family of Hafiya remain in a state of grief and shock. The security guard was described as a person who loved life and spent a lot of his time helping disadvantaged youths in the most troubled areas of the city.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

GUAT CIVILIANS ASSERT “OWNERSHIP” OF SARSTOON Belize City, July 11, 2016 Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington has not indicated if the Government of Belize will submit an official protest note to the Government of Guatemala following the unwanted and illegal presence of an organised group of Guatemalan civilians in the Sarstoon River. Considering Sedi’s “let’s be friends/ give peace (or he meant piece?) a chance” stance, it is highly doubtful that there will be any form of protest. The small group of seven Guatemalan nationals travelled onto Sarstoon River in what they claim was a symbolic move to assert ownership of “Guatemalan territory” on Saturday, July 9, 2016. Video footage of the expedition has been posted on at least two Facebook pages, the main one is under the offensive name “Belice Es De Guatemala”. The video shows the group of Guatemalans on a vessel, travelling along the southern channel of the Sarstoon. From the video, it appears that the Guatemalan vessel is moving along Belize’s side of the channel. A male person is heard speaking loudly, voicing his sentiments about “territory which they have taken from us”. The expedition went uninterrupted as Belize’s military officials at the Forward Operating Base built were reportedly instructed not to intervene, unlike what the Guatemalan military have done to Belizean civilians, NGOs, media and even our military found traversing along the Sarstoon. The Guatemalan military is vigilant and ready to block deny passage and instruct “respete el protocolo”. The Government of Belize, following a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of both countries in Istanbul, Turkey in May, claimed that Guatemala had agreed to allow Belizeans to have “untrammelled access” to the Sarstoon area, but at least on three known occasions involving the media and the NGO group, SATIIM, that did not happen. Concerned that the Government of Belize has been misleading Belizeans with their own version of meetings, Guatemala has called on the Government of Belize to stick to the agreed script of meetings. The Foreign Minister and Prime Minister were egged in the face by this statement and could not offer a reasonable explanation of Guatemala’s charges. Another reality which the Foreign Minister Elrington conveniently denies is that Guatemala has asserted military control of the entire Sarstoon River. The Opposition People’s United Party has described Guatemalan’s move as “annexation”, which is the forced possession and control of another’s territory. Sedi and Prime Minister Barrow have a different, less-alarming version of Guatemala’s aggressions. The evidence is very clear, however. It is against this backdrop; one of intimidation and bully tactics from Guatemala and weak diplomacy from the Barrow Administration, that the Guatemalan civilians who seek to mirror the efforts of the Belize Territorial Volunteers, travelled to the Sarstoon this past weekend. Their military remained in the distance, protecting them. The group called their “mission” a success even though their efforts failed to meet their own expectations of attracting hundreds of Guatemalans. The group’s members had been advertising the trip for several months on their Facebook pages, yet only seven persons turned out. Nonetheless, the seven were undeterred and even vowed to return. “We will continue in this fight and we will demonstrate that this is our land and it does not matter how much we have to fight. We will reach the thousands of Guatemalans and why not say the millions of Guatemalans,” remarked one of the Guatemalans in the video. The Guatemalans also commented that the entire of “Belice” belonged to Guatemala and they hope to one day recover it, stating, “Now more than ever we are committed to continue this fight and to demonstrate before the corresponding authorities that this territory is ours. A territory which they have taken from us, which they have cut off from our map but not from the will of the hearts of the Guatemalans”. These are similar sentiments to those expressed by President Jimmy Morales on his campaign for President earlier this year.

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2016

HARD KNOCKS

Quo Vadis Barrow? Y’all saw that fancy jet flying over Belize City early this morning? Well that was the debt collector, Lord Ashcroft, come to pick up his two hundred million pounds of flesh from his bally Dean Oliver. I gotta say it again – TWO HUNDRED MILLION! That’s $200,000,000.00. And it’s only a first payment. Just a part-payment. Just half! You know if I were a more skeptical fellow and if I didn’t swear by this wonderful, saintly politician, I’d want to think that some really secret, lucrative deals were made when the Lord and King Dean sat down in Miami together last summer. But not Dean Oliver. He would never. So anyway, fun and joke aside, the Lord wants his cheese, and the Prime Minister is reportedly MIA. That’s Missing in Action for the uninitiated – as in nowhere to be found. The last time we checked the PM and loyal Joe were talking paper in all shapes and forms and notes, but the Lord don’t want no paper – he wants cash! And he wants it TODAY. That’s the DEADLINE. Can you just imagine that vein in the side of the PM’s head looking to pop? Talk big again mih bally. Lord Ashcroft got the medicine fu you! King Malpago? Say it ain’t so King Dean? We’re hearing that Barrow is contemplating another acquisition to go along with BTL. We hear he’s thinking about acquiring MALPAGO status. If the Lord don’t get his cheddaz today this is going to spell big problems, since a clause in the Secret Agreement states that if the first payment isn’t made then the collector can demand ALL – as in all $400,000,000.00. Did I get all the zeros? Apparently Mr. Arrogance wants to delay again, and go to Court again. WTH! Mih bally try goh pay weh yu owe. Belizeans done deh pay $200M in interest just because you decide fu play big and bad till dih Lord lash yu. Soh if you think you really bad try play crazy. Belizeans noh ready fu pay not one more red cent fu you. We noh even wah pay this amount weh yuh cost wih because ah yuh foolishness. Don’t Worry Be Happy! Soh check this out. BTL deh run wah series ah ads pon television deh try tell we that we fu happy dat we have to pay all ah dis money to Lord Ashcroft. We supposed to deh dance up and halla loud cause wih soh happy. But Missa Barrow Sir, mih pikni get kick outta school cause I nevah have dih money fu pay school fees Sir. And I noh gat no running wata inna my lee shack Sir and no toilet, just wah lee pigtail bucket. Weh dat Sir BTL dah fu we? Oh soh I could goh deh wen I noh gat no food fu give lee Jun Jun? And I could goh collect wen lee Shaniqua sick and need fu goh dah dacta? What Sir? Oh yu mean dah fu we but we noh get nothing and we noh fu seh nothing? What Sir dah only pipple weh name Barrow could get from BTL? Soh explain to wih again noh please Sir cause me noh gat lotta schooling like you. Weh yu mean when yu seh BTL dah fu we? Say What! And explain this while you’re at it King Dean. Why is it that you need to have an office in a seafront mansion called Villa Fiore? Why is it that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has to be housed in that $3M dollar rich pipple playhouse? Am I missing something? Is it a situation where the country is really, really rich and we’re just pretending to be a poor, Third World nation? You know, it’s like this. We got hospitals all across this country which are falling apart – rats, roaches, not enough beds, outdated equipment, deteriorating infrastructure. We got Police officers who can’t patrol because their vehicles are falling apart, or they don’t have fuel. We have BDF soldiers who are walking in the jungle in tennis shoes because they can’t get boots. We got hungry children who have to be fed by schools to ensure that they get at least one meal a day. We got people living in the worst poverty you have ever seen – poverty that makes you feel sick to your stomach. We are in a crisis. REAL! So then the government of Taiwan comes to you and says you know what? I want to help. In his funny lil accent Benjamin Ho says hey I got three million to give you. What is it that you really, really need? And you know what this country really, really needs? What we couldn’t do without? What we did with $3 MILLION dollars? We bought a frigging mansion by the sea with fancy bathrooms and majestic bedrooms and chandeliers and mahogany staircase and a fountain. We really frigging needed that. Smh!

17 JUL

2016

THE BELIZE TIMES

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EDITORIAL

YOUNG LIVES MATTER

lack Lives Matter has become an important protest slogan spawned by the ongoing shootings of young black men by white police officers across the Unites States of America. The three words are not just a slogan and an urgent cry for justice, but the words have become the name of an equally important protest movement seeking to call national attention for solutions to a situation in the land of the free and home of the brave. America is still very much in the grips of racism. Last week in the USA, three incidents gave renewed attention to the issue of Black Lives Matter. A young man travelling in a vehicle with his fiancé and her little daughter were stopped by a white police for a traffic check. He ended up being shot to death. The fiancé had filmed most of the incident on her cell phone. It went viral on the internet. Within days another cell phone video surfaced. White police officers again fatally shot another black man. More outrage in the black communities. Then Thursday evening in Dallas, Texas, as protesters carrying placards of Black Lives Matter, a sniper opened fire. He killed five police officers and wounded seven more. The sniper was killed. He turned out to be a black man with military training. Outrage among white people in America followed. The sniper was said to have been taking revenge for the killings of black men by white police men. The three incidents last week may well trigger further revenge shootings and could lead to a low grade race war across America. Such a prospect in 2016 in a country where over one hundred million guns are in the hands of the civilian population is not a contemplation to be wished. In America, anyone can walk into any gun store and buy weapons. High-powered “mass-killing” types of automatic and semi-automatic guns. So frightening and disturbing were the three events that the leadership of the USA thought it so important that the former white President George Bush and the present black President Barack Obama were called upon to attend, together, a ceremony in Dallas for the slain police officers. Both Barack and Bush addressed the gathering - broadcast live on all major TV and radio stations across the USA. It is one of the duties of leaders in a democracy to publicly address major issues that trouble the citizens of a country. The exception is Belize. In Belize, the elected leader who frequently holds a form of press conferences (attended primarily by government appointees and political cronies) has deliberately decided not to address the most disturbing and pressing issue in the nation. Apart from the loss of the Sarstoon, this issue is the frightening and ongoing gun violence and murders in Belize City and in the districts. The Prime Minister, who used to “big up” himself with regular photo-ops showing him meeting and greeting gang leaders and declaring he has brought about a “gang-truce”; has for the past three years abandoned the gangs and gun violence issue. Neither he, nor the Minister of Police have had anything to say about the worst scourge of murders plaguing the country. In the first half of 2015, from January to June, there was a whopping 73 murders in Belize. For January to June 2016 the number is 74. Not a word from the Prime Minister. At this rate there will be over 100 persons murdered for the year 2016. For the last eight years that Dean Barrow has been Prime Minister over 100 persons each year are murdered. Belize City, and particularly the Southside of Belize City, remains the murder capital of the country. The Prime Minister is the elected representative of Queen’s Square on Southside of Belize City. Anthony “Boots” Martinez is elected to represent Port Loyola on Southside. Patrick “Pibil” Faber represents Collet. Tracey Panton represent Albert. Michael Finnegan represent Mesopotamia. All these persons hold high positions as Ministers of government. Like their Prime Minister, none of them have ever uttered a word on the rampaging violence and murders, taking place in their constituencies, year after bloodsoaked year. To them it is clear that young lives don’t matter.

This stony, calculated, cold-bloodied silence by the Prime Minister and his Southside Ministers is an affront to the principles of parliamentary government. It is the behaviour of officials and elected politicians who refuse to answer to the requirements of democracy. Indeed, it is the duty of elected members of the National Assembly to make formal statements or raise the issue of rampaging gun violence and murders in their constituencies and in the country. This is what the Prime Minister and his hand-picked Ministers are paid to do by the taxpayers. They collect their huge salaries and allowances each month but fail to carry out their sworn duties. The situation is worse than a defiance of the democratic rules that elected officials must report regularly to the citizens through the National Assembly. As Ministers of Government in Cabinet, they have a duty to DO SOMETHING by way of policies and problem-solving. In this second regard, the Prime Minister and his Ministers remain outstanding examples of failures. In the mean-time the frightening murders continue. Unabated. Young people dying in unprecedented numbers. Don’t their young lives matter? There is a third failure, equally as atrocious as the other two. We highlight the shocking crime four weeks ago to make the point. A minor, 15 years of age, deliberately waited in front of the Queen Street Police station on a busy Friday morning. His mission? To murder a gang leader exiting the Police compound. The attempt resulted in a shoot-out in downtown Belize City in which one Police was shot and two civilians injured. The minor was captured. Eight years ago when Dean Barrow became Prime Minister to his newspaper banner headline- “Let The Good Times Roll”; the minor would have been seven years of age. Eight years of growing up under Dean Barrow’s government has seen not the graduation from college for that minor, but a graduation into a life of crime, of the worst kind. The same needs to be said about the majority of persons arrested and charged for murder. They were minors when Dean Barrow became Prime Minister. Instead of attending college and becoming productive citizens, these young people like the majority of their peers could not attend college. They could not go to a high school because their parents could not afford to send them. Neither could they enter any program for skills training or enter the job market. Because there are no jobs created by Mr Barrow. But doesn’t their young lives matter? Crime is primarily the result of social and economic consequences. Young, uneducated males do not just take a gun and murder another person they hardly know. The rise in violent crime is the direct result of the utter failure of Dean Barrow and his government to provide opportunities and solutions which would lure persons away from a life of crime to a life of meaning and productive behaviour. Their young lives do matter. For the recent Village Council elections, Opposition Leader John Briceno called on the UDP government to take the high road and stop dividing villages along party political lines. The Prime Minister scorned the advice and proceeded to do what he does best- abuse government monies, vehicles and resources to win meaningless elections that offer no betterment to villages. The Prime Minister has only recently been exposed for an even worse sin than dividing villages along political lines. He signed a secret agreement in Miami that will cost the nation of Belize five hundred and fifty million dollars. Yet for eight years he signed no agreements, passed no laws, forged no policies that would ensure every young Belizeans would be guaranteed a college education and the necessary skills to find or create employment. This is a monumental failure of leadership. The kind of failure that has condemned generations of young Belizeans to a life that offers no hope and no future. It is one thing for an unscrupulous politician to misuse millions of public monies to bribe voters. It is an entirely different matter to formulate policies and solutions that will make Belize a safer and better place for young Belizeans, for all Belizeans. Young lives matter, Mr. Barrow. All lives matter, not just yours and your family.

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17 JUL

THE BELIZE TIMES

2016

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