Nothing More than Smoke & Mirrors…

The publicly disparaged Honorable Carlos Perdomo has been sacked finally as the Minister of National Security whose responsibilities included the oversight of the beleaguered Police Department, making way for the Senator in charge of Government Business the Hon. Douglas Singh  otherwise known as the “I will be the next Minister of Finance.”  Please, say it is not so!

Oh, how the criminals must be shaking in their shoes on account of the visions of the well coiffed, well manicured, dainty “Dougie” Singh holding court at the Police.  The Prime Minister the Hon. Dean Barrow obviously has his reasons for placing his trust in Mr. Singh, but no one will argue that he is an upgrade over Mr. Perdomo.  In fact, he may be considered a downgrade in comparison to Mr. Perdomo.  And we all know what an utter failure the latter was.

Under Mr. Perdomo, who survived the tinkering of the Cabinet and was appointed to the newly created post of the Minister of Defense, the Police, who have been wracked recently by rampant accusations of corruption and excessive use of force on the people of the nation, struggled with the chronic problem of violent crime, particularly the wanton gun related murders.  It is plain to see that the officers are starved of resources such as transportation and communications, operate out of dilapidated police stations, are not given proper training, and are supervised by incompetent commanders.

Truth be told, things will not get better anytime soon, regardless of the declaration of Mr. Barrow of turning the “word into flesh.”  Moreover, we expect the morale of the Police ranks to take a hit on account of the appointment of the prissy Mr. Singh.  In all honesty, he does not have the capacity to inspire confidence in the men and women who put their lives on the line on a daily basis to protect and to serve us.  Besides everyone knows that he does not have the mettle to reel in the rogue officers who will continue to run roughshod over the rights of the people.

What is more, with the appointment of Mr. Singh to the newly created post of the Minister of Police and Public Safety, it seems that the Cabinet of Mr. Barrow continues to be dominated by personal friends too closely associated with him, and who bring no tangible skills other than their obsequiousness to their posts.  This is all nonsense and frustrating at the same time.  Come on Mr. Barrow, having a pretty face should not be the primary qualification for heading the Police.

Meanwhile, the unveiling of the new anti crime fighting plan “Restore Belize” by Mr. Barrow on Wednesday displays a stunning lack of leadership.  His words comfort no one and solve nothing.  It is plain to see that he and his Cabinet remain unable to solve problems competently even as lives hang in the balance.  But it is unacceptable that they continue to allow so many people to be in harm’s way for so long.  Clearly, we are no safer than we were before the unveiling.

Actually, “Restore Belize” will bog down the fight of the Police against the alarming crime situation in the red tape of a bloated bureaucracy.  Without a doubt, the Police action will be paralyzed waiting on too many Chief Executive Officers and close United Democratic Party insiders to make up their minds on which direction to move the Police.  In the not too distant future, this experiment will make us long for the days of Mr. Perdomo as the Minister in charge of the Police that saw the criminals acting with impunity, terrorizing the nation.  Imagine that!

Even with the appointment of a new Attorney General B.Q. Pitts, it is expected that the justice system will remain handicapped by overcrowded courts and prisons, the intimidation of the key witnesses that results in their reluctance out of fear for their lives to appear in court, and the criminals walking free also on account of their defense attorneys exploiting loopholes in the system.  And that is not even taking into account the question of the competency of Mr. Pitts, who has limited experience in the higher courts.  Then again, he does not need the experience when First Lady Emeritus Lois Young is only a phone call away.

We should be outraged by the continued nonchalant response of Mr. Barrow to the chronic problem of violent crime.  “Restore Belize” is surely not the answer as it only glosses over the crime problem.  As a result, it seems that Mr. Barrow has failed to feel the pressure from the people to do something about the alarming crime situation.  Clearly, his decision to split the Ministry of National Security in two will do nothing to curb crime.  It will only bloat further the Cabinet of incompetent individuals.  Come to think of it, at least it will be cuter.

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