Do you want the bad news, the bad news or the bad news?

Contributed

On this 13^th day of October, 2009, it seems like the news is all bad for our small nation which we try to sell as our little slice of paradise. The truth is – Belize hasn’t been a paradise for some time now. At the risk of being accused of blatant politicking, I would go so far as to say that things started going really downhill after the UDP took office in February of 2008. I’m willing to take the risk because while I can be accused of politicking, I can’t be accused of lying. He who feels it knows it, and Belizeans who are living the life and feeling the pressures today know that my words are real and bear substance. Just ask the poet who coined the phrase – life haad out ya – and he would be the first to tell you that life out ya today is the haadest it has ever been.

And perhaps the only thing worse than living life in Belize today faced with crippling challenges, is the realization that things aren’t getting any better and will likely get a lot worse. There is no light at the end of the tunnel – just a signpost with the glaring red words – Buckle Up – Rocky Road Ahead.

This morning on the news, for example, there were reports on three home invasions – one in Hattieville and two in San Pedro. We understand that in two of those cases the victims were raped. There was also news of a possible strike by teachers at UB, who have been told that despite the cost of living going up, up, up, they may need to freeze their wages for three years. And that’s just the bad news for the teachers. Students at UB have also been told that fees will go up. And the water company which is owned by GOB is asking GOB to allow it to raise charges by 25%. The Belize City Council is also bankrupt, so city residents can forget about getting any services from that sector. The Mayor of the City is facing criminal charges in Court. There are full blown outbreaks of swine flu, malaria, dengue and hepatitis A. Infants are dying in our public hospitals because there is a lack of basic equipment. GOB and the Church are fighting over the proposed Teaching Services Commission. GOB and the Unions are fighting over all sorts of things. GOB and the Judiciary are fighting. Criminals are walking free because of inadequate prosecution. Tourism figures are way down, resulting in the closing of doors and unemployment. The Kendall Bridge is still just a vague hope, meaning that the South is cut off whenever it rains. And this is just a little peek into all that has gone and is going wrong – just a little teaser, so to speak.

Every newscast every day is filled with negatives – every newspaper is chock full of the latest murders, rapes, jacking or political scandals. When it’s not about crime or politics, it’s about rising costs and decreasing services and benefits. Every indicator both foreign and local is blaring the alarm, banging the gong. Belize is more corrupt now than it was last year, according to Transparency International. Belize’s Human Development Index rating has gone down, according to the latest UN stats. Investor confidence is at an all time low. Our industries are in crisis. Unemployment is up. Inflation is up. Tourism revenues are down. Belize is the #1 murder hotspot in the world, says the Economist. The US State Department is sending out the warning to Americans who want to travel to our shores.

If this isn’t a dire picture then I don’t know what is. It’s certainly a far cry from the days of Dean Barrow trumpeting from the pulpit that he would lower the cost of living no matter what. If there is any Belizean (with the exception of the Barrow family past and present) who says that things are better now than say, two years back, then I can say only that that Belizean has been afflicted with some sort of dementia.

From Corozal to Toledo, Belizeans are crying out for succor, and the only answer from the UDP government is a resounding, deafening silence. For far too many Belizeans, there is no good news in the nation today, no option of a positive note. The fact that the Prime Minister of this nation seems unaware of the crippling hardships which are facing Belizeans is nothing less than a sign of the divide between an arrogant millionaire who knows no personal hardship and many thousands of Belizeans to whom he made a commitment to serve without fear or favour – a commitment which has now been rendered as worthless as the administration which is leading Belize and Belizeans into unprecedented depression.

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