We told you so

My colleague Glenn Tillett is right: Barrow is bogus.

After taking us around his favourite thing (the mulberry bush) with his Sixth Constitutional Amendment Act, the Prime Minister now refuses to pass into law his much touted expanded Senate and recall of representative law.

Back in April, 2008, the Prime Minister beat his chest when introducing the then proposed constitutional amendments in the House of Representatives:  “These are splendid proposals that the government is introducing and I’m not blowing my own horn. This is the effort, this is the work of the government of Belize, the Cabinet. But the truth is that these are fantastic proposals by way of enshrining the reform agenda and I think all of us that are members of Cabinet, all of us that are members of this party, all of us that are members of the government of Belize can feel extremely pleased with the fact that we are delivering so early on this fundamental commitment to the people of Belize.”

But as Belizeans got to realize after the introduction of those proposals into the House of Representative, not all the proposals were “splendid” , fantastic” nor did they all  “enshrine the reform agenda”. Several of the proposals were in fact retrograde. Remember the proposal to lock up people indefinitely (euphemistically called preventative detention); to deny land owners their long established right to royalty in petroleum and minerals found on their land or the lack of job security for Court of Appeal judges? Through public agitation and public interest litigation in the courts of Belize, these proposals were stopped in their tracks.

But not the proposals for an expanded senate and a recall of representative law. Truth be told,  these were and are still “splendid proposals”.  There was no one across the country who complained about the proposal to enlarge the membership of the Senate to ensure that the Senators nominated by the Opposition and the non-governmental organizations together constitute the majority. Indeed, a Senate with such a composition would most certainly have seen government’s 2010-2011 budget voted against. The expanded senate proposal then is a good thing for democracy.

So too is the proposal for recall of representatives a “fantastic” proposal. The thrust of the proposal is that an elected representative would be able to be recalled before the expiry of his normal term of office. The process kicks in by way of a petition for the recall by the members of his constituents. Such a proposal again admittedly fosters democracy.

But splendid as they are- they are merely proposals still. The Prime Minister, a couple weeks back, in exercise of powers conferred on him, brought the Sixth Constitutional Amendment into law. He designated the 12^th April as the date the law was to come into effect. But he, most curiously, refused to bring into law these proposals for an expanded senate and recall of representatives.

It is really one of those things that make you go “Hmmmmmmmmmmmm!”

He, the Prime Minister, had repeatedly told the Belizean public and the NGOs that he wanted to bring into law the expanded senate and the recall of representative provisions but that his hands were tied because the Sixth Constitutional Amendment was tied up in court.  There are no pending cases in the courts of Belize regarding the Sixth Constitutional Amendment, so what now could be the reason why he doesn’t want the expanded senate and the recall of representatives law to come into effect?

But even that rationale so often given by the Prime Minister that the matter was tied up in court and so his hands were tied is now shown to have been hogwash. That he is now able to conveniently separate the proposals for an expanded senate and recall of representative from the rest of the Sixth Constitutional Amendment shows that he all along could have done this.  As far back as 2008, if he were sincere about enacting an expanded senate and recall of representative law, he could have separated these proposals and passed them separately in the House of Representative. There certainly would have been no dissent or opposition to this move. In fact, this is what the PUP had been demanding that the Prime Minister do from way back then.

But we out here know the real reason why the Prime Minister will never bring the expanded senate or the recall representative law into effect. He knows, firstly, that a flurry of recall petition would be thrown at his UDP representatives. His government would DEFINITELY NOT serve out its five years if this recall of representatives law were to come into force now. What, with this nationwide discontent with the UDP right now. He knows too that he would be in a position wherein none or very few of his legislations would be passed by a senate controlled by the opposition and non-governmental organizations. The NGO’s have shown, most vividly in the budget debate in the Senate, that it will not follow this government down the path of destruction where it seems intent on leading this country. Consequently, the Prime Minister knows too well that he will not be able to have his legislations and motions be rubber stamped in the Senate if the expanded senate were to come on stream. He then, as is his modus, merely tells the nation that he will not bring them into law. As he so arrogantly told the nation via Channel 7 back on March 24^th,  “ let them wait”.

The Prime Minister has taken us around a mulberry bush with his touted reform agenda. He hyped up and raised the expectation of just about every Belizean with this expanded senate and  recall of representatives proposal. All along he has been saying his hands are tied because the matter is in court. Now that that has been shown to have been a hogwash excuse, he has taken on his bully approach. To hell with all of you, he is saying; just wait until I am ready. Barrow is bogus; fi real.

| | | | | |