Six months into office and the UDP Government is already awash in scandals, nepotism and abuse of office. Many UDPs are disenchanted and expressing disgust at the behavior of their government.

At Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting a decision was made to call the Audit Department to go into the Belize City Council to check out elected City Councilor Mark King’s sensational exposé of corruption and abuse of City Council and taxpayers’ money. This is six months too late as Prime Minister Barrow was well aware of wrong doings at the Belize City Council and has been covering up the matter since becoming Minister of Finance in February.

The President of the PSU, Jacqueline Willoughby, who along with Dylan Reneau are considered UDP supporters, have been deafeningly silent over the widespread victimization of public officers. Last Friday Willoughby, under pressure from public officers, was scathing in her condemnation of mass firings taking place on the orders of Minister Rene Montero. Of course, it should be pointed out that the PSU had nothing to say when the Prime Minister four months ago fully endorsed the wholesale victimization that was occurring in the public service. He told the television stations he had no apologies to offer to citizens who were being kicked out of their jobs because they were PUP supporters.

The President of the Belize National Teachers’ Union, Mr. Jaime Panti, felt compelled to publicly condemn the UDP government last week after there was a major scandal when the Minister of Education fired School Boards across the country. This same minister at the last sitting of the House of Representatives stood up and made a scandalous speech in which he confirmed that the UDP have fired single mothers and the elderly because they were PUP supporters.

On Wednesday of this week the country felt insulted to learn that Prime Minister Barrow had awarded former Prime Minister Doctor Manuel Esquivel to receive the Order of Belize. More shocking was the news that Prime Minister Barrow’s former wife Lois Young Barrow was to be awarded the Order of Distinction. In publishing the news in their UDP newspaper the Prime Minister’s former wife is listed as “Miss Lois Michelle Young”, no mention being made that this is the self same Lois Young Barrow who has been given contract after contract doing legal work for the government at what must be huge legal fees. Belizeans have been given no explanation as to what Lois Michelle Young has done or accomplished to be so distinguished.

The Foreign Minister’s daughter is posted to an ‘ambassadorial’ post in the USA. His other daughter is signing legal documents at the Solicitor General’s office although there has been no Solicitor General for the past three months following the abrupt resignation of Madam Herwanger.

Efforts by the Attorney General to foist attorney Sharon Pitts from his law firm to be the Chief Magistrate appears to have been snagged by the Chief Justice. The Attorney General was successful, however, in personally arranging for his hand-picked favorite to become Director of Public Prosecutions. His brother-in-law has also been successfully placed as the Director of the General Sales Tax Department.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s daughter is reportedly working as the Director of Legal Services and his brother Denys Barrow, whose ambition is to become the Chief Justice of Belize, has been reportedly sighted hanging around the Supreme Court. The Prime Minister’s sister “Sista B” has landed a cushy job at the Central Bank after ten years of being unemployed.

The latest outrage is that one Herbert Panton, former editor of the UDP newspaper and self-admitted UDP activist, who has failed to qualify as an attorney, is never-the-less employed as a lawyer at the DPP’s Office where he has been reading confidential files and is privy to sensitive documents, including DEA and security information. He will also have major say in decisions that are handed down by the DPP. 

All this and much more after only six months of a UDP government. While Belizeans have seen not a single investment, no new jobs created and crime and cost of living are completely out of control.

And the worst is yet to come.