UDP Politics as Usual

DNA testing…

This week a man walked free from a charge of rape of an 11year old child in San Pedro. It’s a case with an outcome which has been confusing observers quite a bit. The mother testified that she saw the alleged rapist naked on top of her daughter; the daughter testified that she was threatened with a knife by the alleged rapist, dragged into her mother’s bedroom and raped; the alleged rapist was undefended and in his own statement did not confirm or deny the charge of rape and a doctor claimed the child’s hymen had been perforated. So why did the jury unanimously return the verdict of not guilty? That’s anybody’s guess. Forgive me if I sound callous, but that’s not the most important question at this point. The thing is, semen was reportedly found in this young girl. For anybody who’s watched CSI, or Law & Order or Perry Mason reruns or anybody who enjoys crime thrillers, this means one thing – semen = DNA = concrete evidence = slam dunk case. A simple DNA test of the semen allegedly found in the young girl would have proven conclusively if the alleged rapist had done the deed. But see, Belize doesn’t have the ability to do simple DNA testing. Before elections Dean Barrow committed that he would provide a fully equipped forensic laboratory with DNA testing capability. He even quoted a dollar figure. That promise has still not materialized. In fact, Dean Barrow hasn’t mentioned it since. So Belize is decades back when it comes to forensic testing and a child has been denied any justice. In something as important as DNA testing, Barrow falls down. Yet Barrow has a quarter million dollar luxury ride and his Minister of Health was just gifted with a $160,000 luxury SUV. The comfort of the Ministers is apparently the top priority, not the provision of justice and certainly not crime.

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Just some research

A fully equipped forensics lab with DNA testing capability, fully trained staff and all necessary materials costs in the region of $1.6million dollars. That includes construction of the facility. If you doubt this, you can go do the research yourself. In the first year of the UDP in office, the PM’s ex-wife Lois made $1.3million in legal fees alone from the Ministry of Finance. That’s apart from any fees that were paid from other ministries; apart from her hefty stipend from the Social Security Board to act as Chair; apart from her salary and allowances as Permanent Representative to the United Nations. What Lois made from the public trough in the first year of the UDP could have financed a top-shelf forensic lab with DNA testing capability. What Lois continues to make from those PM-granted perks and now from her recently granted perks as member of the Board of BTL and attorney on record of BTL would pay for the operations and maintenance of the lab year after year. Check it out…

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Citco reshuffle…

The reshuffle of portfolios at the UDP City Hall is nothing but a joke. All Zenaida is doing is trying in her own demented way to upstage her political boss. Last week it was the City Council hosting an economic summit (another joke) and this week it’s a reshuffle. Zenaida is trying to show Dean O that he didn’t have the balls to look for a way out of the recession and he didn’t have the balls to reshuffle his Cabinet, but when it comes to balls she’s got extra. Belizeans should not be fooled by ano of these antics. Zenaida is still holding on to the portfolio of finance and revenue at the Council and that the root of all City Hall’s evils. She still gets to put her sticky fingers in our cookie jar. The rest of the portfolios are just fluff. Liaison with civil society and NGOs – what the hell is that! It doesn’t matter who has what – all the councilors are just a waste of time. It doesn’t matter if Laura has parks and playgrounds or if Leila has it. None of them are doing anything anyway. The entire set of dodo-birds needs to be re-shuffled right out of City Hall. Maybe then we could get something done.

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Balls vs. No Balls

Pardon me if I’m wrong, but isn’t our justice system supposed to be occupied with dealing with criminals and ensuring that the laws of the constitution are upheld? I mean, really, really important matters? Then why the hell is our courtroom tied up trying to figure out of Zenaida was referring to Dean when she said he has no balls? Why is our justice system tied up trying to figure out if Zenaida should be kicked out of the UDP or not? That’s just plain bulls@#t. Really. That’s what we’ve come to right now. Bogus!

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Total disrespect…

When the Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh granted an injunction against BTL after that GOB/UDP run company decided to disrupt service to Smart, the right thinking individual may have thought, well – that’s that. The Chief Justice has passed judgment and all parties must heed. But that’s not how things work in Belize these days under the UDP. The first thing a haggard and confused looking Lois Young said when she came out of the Courtroom is that the judgment was wrong and she doesn’t see how the Chief Justice can enforce his order. Lois claims that the Chief Justice as the highest law of the land had no jurisdiction in this case and could not tell BTL what to do. Then again, nobody should be surprised – the Prime Minister himself spoke ill of the Chief Justice in regard to a judgment regarding the sixth amendment bill. Why should Lois not feel that she can do the same? And Lois actually meant what she said – BTL is not doing what the Chief Justice told them to do. International service has not been restored; there are constant disruptions and service continues to deteriorate as BTL tampers with equipment. The UDP has no respect for the judiciary or any decision made by the judiciary if that decision is not in their favour.

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And the PUC…

The Public Utilities Commission will be no help in this telecommunications saga, that’s for sure. PUC head John Avery is a UDP lackey who owes his job and his paycheck to Dean Barrow. He has already been on WAVE radio stating exactly what his position is – Dean Barrow is king, BTL belongs to Dean Barrow therefore BTL can do no wrong. Avery joined his bally Lois in bashing the Chief Justice for making the decision he did and granting the injunction against BTL. In fact, Avery makes no apologies in his position of being rabid red, pro-Barrow and anti-Smart. The young telecommunication company should see about making its own luck, so to speak, and not believe in any fair shakes from the PUC/GOB/BTL.

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David vs. Goliath et al…

Remember what Barrow said in his speech in the House when he hijacked BTL? Remember when he stated that GOB welcomes competition? Well just forget all that. The reality is that right at this point, Smart is David versus Goliath in the persons of GOB/BTL/PUC/Channel 7/Krem/Amandala. That’s the reality.

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Let them eat cake…

Whether Marie Antoinette ever did say this or not is a question for the scholars, but the message remains the same. As the ‘peasants’ starve for want of bread, the uncaring ruler declares – ‘well let them eat cake.’  See, that’s the attitude of our leader Dean Barrow today. It seems he has no clue about the famine which is currently crippling poor people in Belize. His answer to poverty, as we saw last week, seems to be to contribute a ‘substantial sum’ to a Christmas party. The Prime Minister is lost in his luxurious mansion in front of the sea, buffered from the dismal reality out here on the streets.

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Christmas in Belize

Despite economic difficulties from time to time, Belizeans for the most part have traditionally shrugged off depression at Christmas time and dragged out those lights to decorate fences and trees and houses. That’s not happening this year. Homes with any sort of decoration are few and far between. I think Belizeans have decided to prioritize this year. The biggest priority will be food on the table, and in these times that’s hard enough to come by that. All the little extras like marley and lights and decoration and paint will just have to wait. If Mr. Barrow isn’t looking around and getting the message that things really, really bad right around this time, then he will not get the message.

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