The Charmed UDPs…

When Honorable Dean Barrow became our Prime Minister in February 2008, he made the fight against corruption the crusade of his government, setting the tone for his term at the very start.  We welcomed his assurance that his government would be rid of the national menace and that he, area representatives of the United Democratic Party, and every government official would serve us with accountability and transparency, conforming to the highest standards of integrity.

We took Barrow at his word, hoping deep down that he would not be his customary “all glitter and no substance” self.  Yet two and a half years later, there are serious concerns of corruption being rife in his government.

The problem is that it is naturally not in the best interest of those persons who are surreptitiously feeding themselves from the public trough to allow anti-corruption efforts to proceed effectively.  Notwithstanding their shifty behavior, the sooner we get serious about rooting out corruption in the government of Barrow, the sooner we will stop money from hemorrhaging out of the public purse and the fire sale of public assets.  We know this is no easy task, but time is of the essence.

In fact, corruption festers where good governance is absent, breeding cynicism that causes us to disengage from the political process, and increasing the sense of injustice in us who do not enjoy special advantages as Barrow and the charmed UDPs who are perhaps splurging on the spoils of the government.  Besides, it creates an environment whereby we cannot conduct regular business without government officials, from the lowliest to the highest ranking, demanding kickbacks.

Even so, it seems to us that Barrow himself lacks the moral authority to root out corruption in his government.  In the past weeks, purported copies of correspondences of the Ministry of Finance have surfaced that disclose that he shamelessly approved the sale of government property at rock bottom prices to two financially well off Chief Executive Officers, namely Audrey Wallace of the Office of the Prime Minister and Beverly Castillo of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

In reality, these transactions reflect the unbridled sense of entitlement of the charmed UDPs and the absolutely horrid judgment of Barrow.  Wallace and Castillo each acquired a house and lot in the Cohune Walk area of the City of Belmopan valued at well over $100,000 for a song.  Wallace got hers at the steal deal of $20,000, while Castillo got hers at the still unjustifiable sum of $42,000.

Sadly, the lack of transparency has evidently become a way of life in the government of Barrow.  Perhaps to prove that one may never have too many assets, Wallace next got hold of two prime parcels of land in the Caribbean Shores area of Belize City for $3,250 each, courtesy of Minister of Natural Resources Hon. Gaspar Vega.  Not to be left behind, Senator Juliet Thimbriel herself charmed Vega with her wiles, acquiring 2 parcels at 4 ½ Miles Western Highway for $1,500.

And if that were not bad enough, the daughter of Barrow, Deanne and his nephew Kimano have also gotten into the land grab, each acquiring a parcel of land at 4 ½ Miles Western Highway, an area that has clearly been designated for the charmed UDPs only, for the same paltry sum as that of Thimbriel. The charmed UDPs have certainly become kleptomaniacs as well.  Imagine that!  We hope that this is not what he meant as being transparent in the handling of public resources.

If it is, then perhaps Barrow is sending the message that it is acceptable to behave dishonestly, in breach of the trust owed to the people who placed him and the charmed UDPs in power, and that rules do not apply to them.  In that regard, it is time that we start holding them accountable for their conduct in the management of public resources.  If we do not, we will find it increasingly difficult to stop them from engaging further in possible corrupt practices with seeming impunity.

Even more worrying, Barrow and the charmed UDPs do not appear to be too concerned over whether their alleged malfeasance will be exposed anytime soon or over whether the source of some of their newfound wealth will be scrutinized painstakingly by the free press.  There have indeed been far too many instances of possible corruption that the independent journalists have not acted on expeditiously or that they have dismissed as mischief on the part of the Opposition.

Clearly, Barrow has neutered the watchdogs of our democracy, neutralizing their pen and tongue with government largesse.  We hope that they did not believe that his handouts came with no strings attached.  Yet their lack of action is not surprising.  In fact, there are leading newspaper and television personalities who have a long history of being too cozy with him, only taking action against him when it is absolutely necessary, while protecting him as much as they can.

But these independent journalists are doing us a disservice.  Where a free press is absent, we can undoubtedly be fed government sponsored lies.  For that reason, it is time that they start doing their work of monitoring the persons who we elected and ensuring that they are doing what they promised to do once in office.  Besides, it is not as though they cannot do their work doggedly because they are under attack for their investigative exposes by Barrow and his rabid surrogates.

In spite of the collusion of the leading independent journalists, Barrow will soon find out that the possible corruption in his government will deprive him of public trust at the time when he will be required to take painful steps to bolster the economy, such as the looming increase in the already excessive tax rates proposed by the International Monetary Fund to cover the massive budgetary shortfalls of his own doing.  Now, you did not think that money for his excesses grew on trees?

For all the blustering of Barrow, he has done little to curb corruption in his government, except to rehash the history of corruption in which we are clearly not interested.  Instead of storytelling, we want him to muster the political will to deal decisively with the national menace.  Moreover, it is only right that we hold him to his promise to hold every government official accountable for her/his conduct in the management of public resources.  Anything less on his part will not do.

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