The promise to go to the World Bank for a loan to invest in infrastructure is again a testimony of the UDP’s lack of seriousness to grapple with the challenges of development. If they were focused on serious planning and not only trying to grab power they would not have come up with an archaic idea of going to the World Bank.  First of all, countries are shunning the World Bank as a source of external funding for domestic projects. The institution has wreaked economic and environmental havoc on many developing countries. The most egregious of the Bank’s policies are the ‘conditionalities’ attendant with its lending. To get money from the World Bank a country has to take a dose of bitter medicine that is mostly in the form of shrinking the public sector and to agree to a wage freeze. But the stench behind the UDP’s promise is that they have been griping about the external debt of the country. If the debt is unmanageable, as they claim, then it stands to reason that they should even be more circumspect about borrowing money for developmental projects. You see my fellow Belizeans, the credit rating of Belize has been upgraded and the UDP wants to cash in on that despite the fact that they maligned and tried to undermine the government’s effort to make Belize’s public foreign debt manageable and sustainable. Now the million-dollar question is this: So why is Barrow touting the foreign debt to be $3Billion, and in his mind it is a terrible thing, yet he promises to borrow some more for his infrastructure project? Wouldn’t he be compounding the debt burden that he is so disingenuously decrying every time? The people deserve more explanation.

Oil was recently discovered in small commercial quantity in Belize. The persistent effort of the Musa Administration paid off and more possibilities for the oil industry loom large. But the subject of oil has become an emotive issue in Belize because the citizens want to be sure that the proceeds are used for the maximum benefit of all. The opposition, instead of showing responsible leadership, tries to exploit that sensibility for short term political gains by trying to whip up antipathy towards the exploration, extraction and profit sharing policy of the government of the day. The people know that if it was left to the UDP not one drop of oil would have been found in Belize. Imagine a party having spent an inordinate amount of time supporting the foreign funded SATIM to prevent the government from exploiting the oil resources of this country and now they come to us promising the world on the hope of a windfall from the proceeds of oil without even having adequate information about the viability of the oil industry. Just imagine how shameful and despicable the UDP’s naked opportunism is in the face of a lack of vision on their part by failing to see the immense benefit Belize could derive from a budding oil industry. Now they want to cash in on the bounty. 

On the question of the reduction of the GST and the removal of the RRD on fuel imported to Belize, the UDP have once again shown that they are taking Belizeans for granted. No one likes to pay taxes. But at the same time people are aware of the necessity of taxes so that at least the cost of the provision of basic services could be met. However, the promise to reduce those taxes is nothing but empty platitudes. What will replace the shortfall in revenue collected to continue the same level of service provided by government? Will the people be forced to contend with a lower standard of living because of insufficient funds to provide services? What will be the rate of the flat tax that will replace the RRD? Or will Belizeans be asked to pay for the shortfall in revenue by another means of taxation? We need answers to these questions.

Taiwan was once called a pariah state by the very leader of the UDP in a  presentation he made in the House of Representatives condemning the Belize/Taiwan relationship. Last year he stated that he would establish relations with the People’s Republic of China to foster more trade with that country. Now there is a 180-degree change in direction. Why? First of all it is fashionable for the UDP to make outlandish statements for the sake of opposing anything conceived by the PUP or they simply like to pander to what they perceive is popular. But because they have no conviction they muddle through serious policy issues and as a result they become very vulnerable to exposure for being not serious and not ready to lead this country.  A rudderless ship is very bad because it travels wherever the wind blows. However, a ship without a competent and farsighted captain is in greater danger of running aground and sinking with the entire crew and passengers. Let us not forget that analogy so befitting of the UDP. Mr. Barrow has failed to explain why the sudden volte-face. Is it that his arm has been twisted by some influential individual or country? We need a leader with spines and not a jellyfish.

The question of an elected Senate for Belize has finally drawn a clear line showing which political party is serious about political reform and who is paying only lip service to reform. The UDP has lost a golden opportunity to burnish their credentials as a party of reform. Not surprising. Due to the non-elected nature of the Senate in Belize it would be very adventurous for the Senate to venture outside of its comfort zone where its action is not clearly defined by the constitution. A good example is the Senate’s ability to investigate and provide oversight. The legality of its investigation into the management and investment portfolio of the Social Security Board and to make a final Report and present it to the Senate was questioned by the Leader of the Opposition from the very beginning. Now the Court has been  asked to rule on the validity of the entire process. The Senate has no clout to match the dominance of the elected House of Representatives. There is no legal framework for that to happen. The proposal by the UDP to increase the number of independent Senators is nothing more than a cosmetic change. It will not change the power relationship between the Senate and the House. The House will still have the final say. The Senate will still be unable to provide adequate scrutiny of financial measures since it has no jurisdiction over money matters. The UDP wants the Senate to continue to be a repository for their political associates, a talk shop without teeth and a window dressing forum for participatory democracy. If Belize is to embrace change in the way we do business to engender efficient government, a dialogue needs to ensue to trane a critical lens on the parliamentary system that we have been practicing for decades. But there is a democratic deficit that needs to be bridged. Participatory democracy in Belize is at a crossroad. An effective second chamber can be one avenue to widen and deepen our democracy. This is what the PUP is doing and the UDP is avoiding.

PUP believes in Belize and Belize is ready to embrace more changes under the leadership of the PUP.