UDP Politics as Usual

The tourism crisis…

If there is any industry in Belize which is not currently in crisis, could somebody point it out please? Seems like absolutely nothing’s going right in Belize these days! By the way, has anybody noticed that things started going down the drain in the past two years – wonder what changed since like, hmmm, 2008 thereabouts! Oh yeah, that’s right, the United Democratic Party took over and asked us to imagine the possibilities. Mr. Dean, we don’t need to imagine the possibilities any longer, we’re living the dread realities. It’s sad what’s happening in our tourism industry these days. It was sad to listen to a small tour operator last night saying that the five guides he employs will be wearing their company shirts for the last time because they have been pushed out of business. Seems like our Belizean operators and guides are being forced out of business because they can’t compete with one big time foreign player fronting as a Belizean-owned business. As things stand right now, it looks like hundreds of small Belizeans will be looking for new employment soon. The CEO of the Belize Tourism Board Mike Singh took sides with no remorse and insulted our small time tour operators and guides, telling them that they were just not up to standard. I wonder if the CEO doesn’t have his hand in the Chukka pie, cause he sure seems partial to that company. Be that as it may, methinks Mr. Barrow should think about opening his eyes very soon, as the frustration and desperation on the streets is already at fever pitch.

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Barrow’s foot-in-mouth crisis…

I’m finding it harder and harder to laugh at Mr. Barrow’s frequent faux-pas. I guess that’s because as one woman put it so eloquently on the news last night, she has been in the tourism business for the past 9 years and things have never been so bad, and she has children to feed. Nothing seems very funny anymore, even when Mr. Barrow makes a fool of himself. On Sunday I was listening to a live radio broadcast from Los Angeles, as the Prime Minister addressed a gathering of Belizean-Americans, something he dearly loves to do far away from the dismal realities of home. He was asked about tourism, and in his trademark brilliant style, waxed philosophical for at least 10 minutes about all that his government is doing in the tourism industry, all the incentives his administration is providing for small tour operators, all the training for the small tour guides. It was a fairy tale story which ended, as far as I could tell from the radio broadcast, in a standing ovation. Hell, it sounded so good I wanted to pull the vehicle to the side of the road and get out and cheer. But how’s about this for a cold slap of reality straight to the kisser, Mr. Barrow? While you were out there feting and weaving your gossamer threads of fancy, hundreds of poor Belizean tour guides and small tour operators are going out of business and wondering how they will provide another meal to their children. I don’t remember you mentioning that, Prime Minister. Guess you got so carried away by the adulation that you forgot that part.

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Complete fabrications…

During that same broadcast, Mr. Barrow was asked a question about corruption in his government, and pontificated, postured, posed and paused dramatically for an awe-inspiring 20 minutes. Actually, it was a nauseating 20 minutes of saying a lot about absolutely nothing. First, Mr. Barrow took time to proclaim his own greatness, stating that while he cannot really speak about his ministers, he is as lily-pure as the traditional vestal virgin (blatant, outrageous nepotism and tampering with the Judiciary do not count as corruption in his mind, I suppose). Then I guess realizing that as the leader of the UDP crew he had to bear some responsibility for their shenanigans, he took out his holy rod of correction and roared out in supreme piety and righteousness that if any of his crew took the path of corruption, he would be smote down and bashed about the head, so to speak. Ouch, guess if any one of that bunch was listening to the radio he must have been a wee bit uncomfortable. Like my friend Boots, for example, who still has not been able to explain that Port Loyola housing for the poor thing which never actually benefits the poor in Port Loyola. Where exactly does the money go, Boots? And then there’s Grabby Vega, who has parceled out countless pieces of land all over this country to his family members, and that’s just one of his lesser sins. And the list can go on and on. You see, Mr. Barrow can travel all over the world and blow smoke and fart rose-scented rubbish. Here in the jewel we know better.

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No stipend for diabetes…

I would love to say that Mr. Barrow was a little ashamed when a volunteer in the Belize Diabetes Association who was visiting LA and was at the meeting stood up and told him that for two years the Association has been trying to get a small stipend from GOB, but to no avail. But nope, the man was unperturbed and his aplomb was unshakable. He committed then and there to looking into the situation and got another rousing round of applause. Three cheers for Mr. Barrow. But see, this is something very serious. Diabetes is responsible for the greatest number of deaths in Belize yearly and the numbers keep growing. The Association is staffed by volunteers who give generously of their time and resources, and they have not been able to get a stipend from GOB in two years of begging. This brings to mind my old friend the semi-literate Deputy Prime Minister, who was questioned about a 15,000 acre lucrative logging concession he gave to his good friend and campaigner Gaspar Luna. Vega claimed that Luna had just recovered from a bout with cancer, so he gave him the concession to help him out, and he did so without shame. I remember thinking, damn, isn’t there a Cancer Association which is perpetually struggling for funds? They could have done with some of the proceeds from that logging concession. But no, Luna got it all for himself because, poor thing, he was a cancer survivor. In terms of this Diabetes Association thing, all I can tell that lady volunteer is that I hope she got the PM’s commitment to look into the matter in writing, got his signature in front of witnesses and got it notarized.

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Murders and a song…

I’m fairly confident that the artists who contributed to the making of I Am Belize know that there is criticism not of the song, but of the initiative which led to the song in the greater scheme of things. Their talent is undeniable, but boss this is way bigger than a song. It really pisses me off that as the murder rate creeps to just about one a day, the best crime fighting initiative this government could come up with was a song. Before the song, violent crime was out of control, after the song violent crime is out of control. Mr. Barrow and his effete little Puck dance merrily around the real issues throwing glitters and confetti to cover the blood and gore running on the streets. A few days ago there was a woman on radio talking about Operation Restore Belize. She was talking about coming up on a child drawing on a wall and it being our responsibility to correct that child and get them to stop. Do these people not realize that in this day and age, we’d probably end up with a 9mm bullet lodged in our skulls for our troubles? Things are that bad. Mr. Barrow et al are putting the ball in our court, making it our responsibility to deal with crime. They need to deal with the abject poverty, the hopelessness, the desperation, the lack of accessible education, the lawlessness…GOB needs to do its job. Mr. Barrow needs to get real in a hurry.

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