In the past, there have been regulations and laws that were implemented across the board for people who intended to bring in vehicles on the island. Fine, those laws are perfect because no tourist wants to come to San Pedro and be caught up in a traffic jam. But when the laws are applied to certain sectors of society then that is when I see a problem. One of the past Chairmen of the Transport Board, namely Harry Longsworth, was fired by Mayor Elsa Paz when he issued an order to impound a vehicle belonging to the driver of Manuel Heredia. The Mayor and the Area Rep gave Mr. Chi the green light to bring in his SUV on the island without a permit. Of course Chairman Harry would not allow that to happen even more so when it was exposed in the local papers. So when Harry sent a letter to the Police to impound the vehicle, the very evening Mayor Paz and Junior discharged Harry from his responsibility. Harry did not go down easy and in the months that followed, he sent weekly letters to island based media houses where he exposed Junior, Elsa and the UDP Town Council. Like the rest of San Pedro, I miss those letters, Harry.

With one hand on the Bible and the other on her chest, Mayor Elsa swore to the people that even after Harry’s termination, she would ensure that Chi’s illegal vehicle gets off the island as soon as possible. In fact the new Transport Chairman, one of the Guerrero brothers, went as far as to say that the vehicle was already on the barge and heading off the island. Some people swallowed that story hook, line and sinker but I didn’t. You see, Mr Chi is no ordinary man, he holds the keys to Junior and Elsa’s dirty works and even his personal secrets so there was no way in hell that Chi would be told to ferry his SUV back to Progresso.

Months after the incident, Chi’s vehicle remains on the island. Chi was told by the Mayor that if he gets an auto dealer’s license plate, she could allow him to keep the vehicle on the island. Chi’s vehicle remains on the island and is driven around town with one auto-dealers license plate. Strict orders were given to the transport officer to “not to interfere” with the vehicle owners. To the island residents, Chi is the first person to bring in a vehicle without an importation permit and allowed to drive around with an auto dealer’s plate. But Chi is just one case – many wealthy, non-Belizeans who are well connected to Elsa and Junior have been allowed to own and use as many vehicles as they want on the island. If you are not “well connected” to the UDP (Elsa and Junior in specific) chances of you allowed to obtain a permit for a vehicle or cart is slim to none.

The favoritism as to who can get a permit or not, is one of many failures at the San Pedro Transport Department, but the incompetence goes beyond that. The cronyism of the UDP is obvious and I sometimes wonder “what the hell” is inside the heads of Elsa and Junior. Government owned vehicles should be driven by a specific driver or the individual the vehicle was assigned to. Well in San Pedro, it seems that every family member or their crony can drive the vehicle/carts assigned to the Area Representative and the Mayor and even some councilors. The Mayor allows any one of her relatives to drive her government issued cart. The same with Junior Heredia; one minute you see his children driving in his government issued cart and vehicle then the other minute you see his children’s husbands driving around. There is no respect for the government assets by our local elected officials; they fail to realize that those vehicles are ours.

But what can we expect from these individual who want to run their show as they please without respect for the laws. In fact the Mayor is yet to say if she compensated the Town Council for the use of the Town Council trucks to fill her lagoon side bar (Zac Bajo). When a caller questioned her about her actions on a morning show, she quickly said, “I don’t know what the caller is speaking about.” Anyone can go around Zac Bajo and look at the transformation; from swamp land to high, sandy and solid land. Do you know who paid for it? Clearance of the land was done by the Town Council workers during working hours, transportation of materials was done using the Town Council vehicles and material came from the Town Council as part of the arrangement from those dredging for material on the south of the island. Do you know who paid for the beautiful transformation of Zac Bajo? We the tax payers paid for the expenses, if you don’t believe, ask the Mayor to prove otherwise.

The big test for the National Coordinator and flippin’ Minister came when Alex paid an early visit to Belize with forecast maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour. NEMO officials in Belmopan were caught with their pants down. Little did the officials in San Pedro know that neither the National Coordinator nor the flippin’ NEMO Minister had their “hurricane preparedness plan” in order. Sounds like a joke, but it became evident when the muscles were put to the test and the island’s officials had to steer the ship through the storm with the expertise they had around.

With NEMO Belmopan clueless about dealing with storms on the island, everything was left to the recently transferred NEMO Coordinator on the island and the members of her committee. Yes, the chancy National Coordinator and the Flipping Minister should be ashamed for leaving Ms. Augustine out in the cold with only her committee to help weather the storm. Ask anyone in the committee in San Pedro and they will tell you that when Ms. Augustine requested her emergency kit, she was told “we no gat nothing yet cause we neva prepare for this storm.” How on earth can the National Coordinator not have NEMO prepare for a storm when we are one month into the hurricane season? How on earth can they have announcements in the media advising the local residents to have an emergency preparedness plan when they themselves have none?

Perhaps it was the state of emergency or maybe a last minute move to save the government skin from major embarrassment that prompted Junior Heredia to take control of the emergency preparation on the island. Whatever the case, someone in authority had to lead and Junior Heredia did. The committee in San Pedro was constantly briefed by hydrologist Frank Panton who has experience with tracking hurricanes as a retired Met Officer. For the most part, the committee members were committed at a time of need. Despite the composition and political affiliations of its members, all in all, the committee was up and running upon call.

While the National Coordinator and the flippin’ Minister were making certain stupid and immature recommendation, the local San Pedro NEMO branch found it fitting to do otherwise. Even when the flippin’ Minister wanted a total island evacuation at midnight before the storm, the committee said no. So when Panton, Augustine and Junior were on the airwaves telling the islanders of the timeline action plan, that got the flippin’ Minister and the National Coordinator up in arms. This columnist understands that for every occasion that the Love FM island reporter had the local NEMO officials from the island on the airwaves Ms. Augustine was called by her superiors. In many instance those calls were received during the meetings and the committee members were witness to Ms. Augustine being scolded, belittled and disrespected by her superiors all in the middle of the emergency.

In fact, Junior felt it necessary to place a call to the flippin’ Minister and have him back off. The flippin’ Minister was reminded that during an emergency San Pedro is handled differently than the rest of the country because of its geography. Of course the flippin’ Minister was not happy and Junior was forced to tell the flippin’ one that, “as long as I am the Chair of NEMO in San Pedro, I will run the committee the way we always do.” Then came yet another blow to flippin’ Minister – “jump high or jump low, I will make decisions for my constituency even if it means being removed as chair.” But Junior did not end there; he told the Flipping Minister that, “instead of looking at the pettiness of my committee, you should get NEMO in order because we in San Pedro are more prepared than NEMO at a national level.” The very fierce telephone fight was done after the local committee was tired of being schooled and scolded by the National Coordinator and Flipping Minister.

After seeing that some of his committee members are known PUPs, Junior was forced to make an authoritative comment and shouted at the Flipping Minister over the phone, “Not even under a PUP administration did I have so many problems with NEMO like I have now under my own UDP government.” Junior’s telephone conversation says a lot about NEMO at a national level; they are confused and clueless. Alex is an awaking call for NEMO’s National Coordinator and the Flipping Minister; a message for them to get their act together. One thing that is evident however is that if Belize remains in the hands of the Flipping NEMO Minister and a stronger storm comes our way, many of us will be left up that proverbial creek without a paddle.

From our conversation, I realized that not only is his business hurting from the slow economic activities on the island, but like him, so many other businesses across the country are also experiencing ‘goma’ under the watch of the UDP.  For months I have been hearing from business people that “things haada out yah.” But to hear one of the biggest and most powerful businessmen with good UDP connections admitting that “things are really, really dread,” then it must be so.

The businessman said to me that never before has the real estate business on the island been in such a terrible condition. With one of the largest hotels on the island in his business empire, the businessman said to me that never before in his experience have bookings been so low. In fact, he explained that in many instances he has to dig into his savings to cover operational expenses and meet payroll. And to top off the slow business climate, the businessman complained that the crime situation just adds more problems to the tourism crisis that we are experiencing. Then he made an alarming statement that I will quote verbatim – “one would thing that even after Williams was shot, the PM would introduce a realistic and clear plan as to how he plans to tackle crime in Belize.” Boom! Then another statement – “the only ones making it right now are the Barrows and the Vegas while we (businessmen) are getting screwed every second!”

To put things into perspective, one just needs to travel north of Ambergris Caye and they will realize what the businessman is really speaking about. Large resorts have been forced to close down and abandon their business, retired persons are selling their properties, real estate companies are selling closed vacation homes, properties on mortgages are being auctioned by commercial institutions, businesses are going into receivership, apartments and rooms are closed and a high number of building are unfinished.

San Pedro was not prepared for the economic crisis brought into play by the UDP. Because of the bloom that Ambergris Caye enjoyed under the previous PUP government, many Sanpedranos and business people invested their hard earned money or went into the banks to borrow money and built apartments and rooms for rental, expanded their businesses and constructed hotels, opened restaurants, purchased vehicles for taxis, purchased boats for tours and even improved the infrastructure of their dwellings. But now that things are not working out as they were, things are becoming stressful for the islanders and investors.

Sure the UDP are quick to blame the past administration and the global economic indicators; but that is just another political excuse to hide their incompetence and inefficiency. Just ask the following questions – what has the UDP done for you since elected to office? After 2 ½ years, what has the UDP done for Belize? Is the UDP capable of moving Belize out of the economic mess that they have put us in?  Does the PM really know how to run this country or is he governing by trial and error? Can the UDP bring some level of stability into the business sector to ease the high interest rates from commercial banks? Can Belize survive another 2 ½ years in this crippling economic atmosphere? Just take time to reflect on the questions and you will realize that the mess the country finds itself in is thanks to the UDP.

When we hear our investors making theses types of statements and asking those types of questions, it is a strong indication that businessmen and investors have lost confidence in their government. And when investors lose confidence in a government, it can spell disaster for an already struggling government. Then it is time for the government to put up and make things happen or to shut up, leave and make way for capable minds to run the country.

There is enough room under the big PUP blue tent, but the main reason some people don’t find themselves under the tent is that they have chosen not to. As Party Leader, Johnny has done everything possible to include as many people as possible in the rebuilding process of our Party. But I honestly believe that some elements want more than just a “special invitation”; they want direct control of the PUP. The just don’t want to be under the big tent, they want to run things under the big tent. I have been a witness to Briceno’s willingness to include as much people in the PUP, but there are those who simply want to see the PUP fail. These same backstabbers are hoping for a leadership challenge at the next Party Convention. They are tainting the current leader as incapable of uniting the party loyalists. Even in San Joaquin, traditionally Lencho’s turf, Briceno was welcomed into the homes of those real PUPs that want to see the party move on.

Then the NP argues that Briceno should be blamed for having the party where it is. May I say that if they are speaking of actual time then we are on the way up to victory, and yes, it is Johnny’s hard work that is paying off.  But if they are referring to the past results of the 2008 fall, then I wonder in which world Silva and his NP staff are living. The fall of the PUP in 2008 falls squarely on the feet of the then leadership of the party. I have no doubt that Said Musa was and continues to be a good man, but he had elements around him that made him look bad. Those same people, because of their greed and corruption, contributed to Musa’s leadership defeat at the polls. Some of them are the same ones currently penning the NP. In the same way that I believe in Musa’s innocence, I strongly believe that some PUPs enjoyed Musa being Prime Minister. In many instances, those people placed in key positions in order to execute the Party’s philosophy turned around and executed their own philosophies, allowing our party to fail. Those actions were not only noticed by our PUP voters but the wider voting population, hence our defeat. Now, because those individuals cannot do as they will in the Party, they see the Leader as a threat.

Knowing our Party Leader well enough, I am tempted to say that Johnny would never kick out anyone from the PUP. Those that feel that they have been kicked out of the Party are because Briceno has taken a stance against corruption. No queremos oportunistas – punto y fin!  No party is perfect; every party has challenges, take a look at the UDP and you will see. Of course there will be character problems, but it is time to look at real issues. There comes a time when whether we like something or not we just simply have to keep moving forward in the interest of our country. Or are we willing to see our Party and its members punish at the mercy of the UDP simply because some people cannot see eye to eye or because an elite crowd want to control the PUP?

So then I beg the question; what is the NP’s real agenda? Is it that those paying the mercenaries to write for the NP are fighting to control the PUP even if it means attacking Briceno’s leadership? Where was the NP when we were taking a licking when Said Musa was our Leader? We are still paying for the faults and misdeeds of the past administration, but did we tear down our party? Sixty years after it was formed, our Party is at a similar cross road, but at the same time our leader is concentrated and focused on garnering public support as we see the rebirth and rebuilding of the Big Blue Machine. It doesn’t matter how you want to turn it; it doesn’t matter how you look at things; and it doesn’t matter whether you like it or not; Hon. Johnny Briceno is our leader and we are moving forward.

But on Sunday last, even shame at the gross incompetence and total neglect of the UDP would stop their supporters and leaders from flocking into Libertad in an effort to save the skin of Gabriel Martinez. In fact at the front lines were senior Cabinet Ministers including the Belize Rural South Area Representative Manuel Heredia. Now I don’t really understand what was inside the calabash head (or in other words Cabeza de lek) of the barefoot minister to show up in Libertad. This is the same Junior Heredia that could not even walk the streets of Caye Caulker in the weeks leading up to and following the village council elections. The bare foot minister has but one village in his constituency and he could not show up to support his UDP slate on Election Day. What a shame! But the barefoot minister was in Libertad the day before and on Election Day and he was dishing out blue notes right, left and center, I hear. I also wonder what Pablo was doing at a very well known house in the village. I hear he was using that house as a paying station. It’s a good thing the Police didn’t pick that time to do one of their infrequent searches. And as for Dora (sorry, I mean Boots), what was he doing in Libertad? For months the streets of Libertad have been in a deplorable condition. I hope that with Dora getting firsthand experience of the condition of the drains and streets, thing will look better for Libertad. Now as for Gabriel, his own UDP supporters wasted no time in lecturing him in the presence of his cabinet colleagues.

But like the local elected officials who disappointed the people of Libertad, so was the long time village nurse who had claimed to be “professional” for years. Yes, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I noticed the community nurse, Mrs. Terry, campaigning for the UDP inside the polling station area. For a public servant to be mingling in the nitty-gritty of politics is a complete shame. But what makes matters even worse is that Nurse Terry had the guts to be disrespecting and insulting people that share the same community. Now can anyone tell me how will this disrespectful nurse that was seen and heard uttering things perform her duty to those same people she disrespected? Nurse Terry has no respect for her profession and the public servants who are fighting hard to build their credibility. I hope that when Nurse Terry is transferred out of Corozal she does not cry victimization.

Now turning to the new Chairman Mr. Bautista (or should I say Teacher Bautista), he turns out to be just another “persona ingrata.” After enjoy the free grants given to him under the PUP to get his education degree, he now has the guts to turns around and kick the party that educated him. This is the same Tr. Bautista who was allowed to continue teaching under the Methodist Management even though it was alleged that he was conducting illicit relations with another teacher. I am no biblical person but I believe Christians refer to those actions as adultery. Mr. Bautista’s adulterous actions combined with the UDP politics eventually led Mrs. Luciola West to leave the Methodist Management after years of service. Mrs. West was an Ordained Religious Minister in the Methodist Church, a religion I once held to great standards.  Mrs. West is a woman of integrity, honesty and most importantly a godly woman. But because she called the devil by his name, the evil plans of the influential UDP Methodist members in Libertad eventually prevailed and had the respectable West leaving to teach at a Seventh Day Adventist managed school. While I am tempted to say that Mrs. West moving to teach at an Adventist managed school may well be God’s calling, I felt so disappointed for the treatment she got from a Management to which she dedicated her youth and family.

The reason I bring up the issue of UDP politics in Libertad is merely to point out how the UDP money, power and their control of some religious organizations can screw up the lives of honest and trustworthy people. There will be no positive difference in Libertad under Bautista and the UDP. I just pray the wrath of God does not fall on innocent, dedicated and hardworking taxpaying people of Libertad for the misdeeds of others.

You will find out that I don’t generally waste my time answering to newspapers opinions and comments, especially when it comes from rags like the UDP newspaper. What I will not waste an opportunity to do, though, is to correct individuals who are quick to write the untrue, inventing lies to brand people without looking at themselves (both as individuals and as a group).  Alfonso (the real ‘shim’ from the UDP newspaper) loves to continuously referring to private citizens as “sketels.” Alfonso goes on to pen weekly that the writer of this column has a gender crisis. I have no problem if Fonso feels that way, but I am obliged to inform him that it is in fact the other way around; and in the process disappointing him for not belonging to his club. You see Alfonso, I have allowed you to write as you please because I don’t lack “dangling appendages” as compared to your PM; something the rejected Zenaida is paying dearly for revealing.

Alfonso claims that there are those of us who have an identity crisis. Well again, fortunately I am in my right mind and I know that I am a male, but how about him? And speaking about feminine behavior, it is advisable for you not to travel down that road. For those of us who have known about your sexual preferences for many years now, we have decided to keep it out of politics in an effort to support your ‘inner you,’ but may I remind you that it is not surprising to us. But if your intent was to hunt for another victim, like a real skettel in full heat, well again I am sorry to disappoint you Fonso. And about your suggestion about changing the name of my column to “bend over,” don’t worry because if anyone can execute those words perfectly well that person is you, and if you don’t believe it then just ask your long time ‘friend.’

You see Alfonso, when you pen things without thinking, they can come back to haunt you. The pictures you use off my facebook are insignificant. But if you really want to see men in dress then I can send you one from the barefoot minister and see if it fits your preference. You see I got pictures of that too, but I respect the culture of San Pedro as compared to you. I know for a fact that I have no identity crisis but can you say the same? Can Belmopan John and Collet Patrick say the same? Can your female radio co-host and lady Singh say the same? One advice to you Alfonso is that if you give a licking, then I hope that you are prepared to take licking.

My intent is not to tear down Alfonso but to simple bring him back on track and save him some embarrassment that can come along in the future if he pushes for more. As a member of the Opposition and as a Belizean it is my obligation to keep issues of national importance alive, pointing out the government shortfalls, analyzing things from a different perspective as well as giving suggestion as how to improve the lives of the Belizean people. That is because I have recognized that we have no enemies, but opponents and our equal role is to combat the real enemies which includes poverty, hunger, equal opportunities and social justice and in the process making live better for all.

Editor’s Note: While I personally find references to me in the Guardian as nothing more than entertainment value, Mr. Noble as Editor must realize that there will be persons who object to the increasingly personal nature of the attacks in his rag, and those persons are entitled to a forum to voice their opinions as well. And as this columnist rightly states, if the girly-man throws licks, he better be prepared to take a licking as well.

Generally speaking, I am tempted to say that Sanpedranos are not prejudiced against mainland residents, but expect them to fit into their community and embrace the values, goals and objectives of the island. Nothing is wrong with that, but where I draw the line is when there are clearly divisions and preferences over being from the island vs. being from the mainland. For too long the UDP elected officials have been discriminating against these mainland residents calling them “come yah” or “outsiders.” In fact this racist position became evident when there was a major power struggle to appoint a new deputy mayor of San Pedro Town.

Two of the UDP elected officials are not originally from Ambergris Caye. Councilor Joseph Elijio is originally from Dangriga while Councilor Pablo Ico is from Orange Walk. It was a pre-election understanding that the position for the Deputy Mayor would be rotated on an annual basis and those who had not served in that capacity under the previous term would get a try at the position. There was no objection from within the council and the rank and file of the UDP when a Sanpedrano was nominated to serve in this capacity in the first year of the current UDP Town Council. The challenge came when outsider Pablo Ico was set to become Deputy Mayor. It took over a month before Ico was announced as the Deputy Mayor to the displeasure of many including the Area Representative. Just before the announcement, Ico fired off a serious press release, partly lashing out at the barefoot minister.

To make a long story short, Deputy Mayor Ico was given one of the most powerful portfolios on the island – Tourism, Traffic and Transport. Little did Ico know that even with such an appointment he would never actually control those positions. The former deputy mayor refused to hand over the vehicle to Ico; in fact transport officers were asked to confiscate the vehicle from the former deputy mayor before it was turned over to Ico. It is almost three months now that Ico assumed the responsibility of Traffic and Transport and he still has not been given the autonomy to control those departments. In fact, the Guerrero brothers, who are very cozy with Junior (the barefoot minister), are the ones running the Traffic and Transport Department. Ico is not deputy mayor because he is liked by the Mayor. Ico was appointed deputy major because the Mayor and some of her councilors felt that Ico would blow the whistle on them if not given the position.

The main reason that the elements within the UDP refused to give Ico full autonomy for traffic is that the rank and file of the UDP has used the traffic department for personal gains. Should the books at the traffic department be opened and audited, then the dolly house at the town council would crumble to pieces. The San Pedro Traffic Department is in a complete financial mess; licenses are sold over the counter, vehicle importation permits are sold to a select few while monies are unaccounted for. But because Ico has publicly declared that he will call a spade a spade, the Mayor is afraid that Ico will “spill the beans.”  The Mayor, the Guerrero brothers and even Junior has no shame to admit that they are dissatisfied that an “outsider” or “come yah” is Deputy Mayor. What is it that the Mayor, Junior and the Guererro brothers want to hide and cover up? Let not your heart be troubled – the beans are spilled and the documents are out! But we’ll leave that for another time.

After a very long period of neglect from the Minister of National Security, some of the streets became more of a war zone; guns became the order of the day, grenades, daily murders, assault, robberies and armed hold ups are all that we hear about on the news.  Jules’ televised images on the launching of Operation Jaguar gave a perception that Belize is Bagdad. The only missing images from the so called “Operation Jaguar” are war tanks. From what I saw it seems that operation jaguar will have heavily armed BDF soldiers with military weapon on foot and in vehicles on every street, searching anyone that looks suspicious to them. In addition, the Police by its own admission said that because they are lacking in man power, regular citizens were sworn in as special constables to conduct stop-searches on individuals, patrol the streets of Belize City and make arrests if necessary. Is this a joke?

I would be one of the first to admit that crime did not happen overnight; but if crime is ignored and left unattended for a very long period of time, then it becomes manifested even more. Under a PUP government, the citizenry saw murders and similar incidents, but the then government left no stone unturned. The government even hauled in experts from Mexico, through the help of the business community, to process and reconstruct crime scenes and even conduct ballistics testing on recovered murder weapons. The judiciary system was allowed to carry out its duties; the DPP’s office was fully functional; in other words everything was working fairly well. Not perfect but fairly good.  Never before have our streets been as dangerous over the past 10 years as they are now. Yes, there were murders, but not as common as they are now. But the Prime Minister and his Cabinet want us to believe that crime has gone down. Fool deh talk but da noh fool deh listen.

Why are we where we are right now, having to launch Operation Jaguar? The Prime Minister, when leader of the Opposition, through his call for civil disobedient and civil unrest, paved the way for the criminal elements to break loose. Now that he has gotten more than he bargained for, he is clueless on how to bring back calm and stability to this country. It was the UDP government which allowed the people to lost trust and confidence in both the Police and the entire justice system. It was the Prime Minister that turned the police against the people when he allowed the Head of the Police Department to say that the Police will “shoot to kill.” It was the Prime Minister who allowed his government to enter into agreements with the “head of the gangs” and after the kitty got empty, it is back to crime as usual. I cannot blame the Prime Minister for being frustrated over the public outcry over the crime situation that has put a black eye on his government, but I blame him squarely for selling the electorates a bunch of incompetent and useless elected officials who can offer no solution to the crime problems.

Belize needs more than just a cosmetic solution like Operation Jaguar; Belize needs true solutions. While it will temporarily reduce crime in Belize City, Operation Jaguar will drive out criminal elements from Belize City who will find no other recourse but to migrate with the criminal minds into other municipalities. Operation Jaguar will move crime from Belize City to other communities. So then we will be back to square 1!

For the neighborhood watch groups to organize themselves as one band and show how disappointed they are with central government and the way they are handling the crime situation is good of them. For the locally elected UDP municipality to join the march is hypocritical. If they so much desired to do something about addressing the crime problems on the island, they would have done so a long time ago. The truth of the matter is that they have the political power to pressure their central government to adequately address the crime issues. What was shocking to us was to see the senior Cabinet Minister Junior Heredia show up with his face of brass and march.

The elected Cabinet Minister had no shame to march along the very same groups who have been singing to him for months that things are out of control on the island. By his own admission, Junior Heredia said on national radio that “something drastic has to be done to address the crime situation on the island.” So can Junior Heredia tell us what drastic measure his government is taking? The people have spoken by saying enough is enough and marching through the streets on San Pedro, but the big question now is what’s next?

Showing your tired political face at the march is not enough for us, Junior. Can you tell the people of San Pedro what Cabinet said about the march? You have the time to sit in Cabinet and discuss stupid, inconsequential issues; how is it that they have not discussed the crime situation on the most important tourism destination? We are yet to hear the UDP government’s police plan of action for the island when it comes to crime. Where is the 360 degree policing plan for San Pedro, Ambergris Caye?

What is really surprising is that moments after the crime march, Junior was heard saying that him marching had nothing to do with finding solutions. From what we were told, for Junior Heredia it was about claiming fame while at the same time sending a message to his incompetent and lame-brained cabinet colleague, Carlos Perdomo. Why would Junior want to finish Perdomo? Junior’s declaration seems to me like he is stomping a beaten man that is already on the ground. So my next question to Junior is why and on whose order are you sending that message to Perdomo? It is common knowledge that Perdomo is nothing but an excellent example of complete failure, but for senior cabinet ministers to behave like disgruntled lovers is something else.

For Junior to march against crime in San Pedro and claim fame and to send a message to inept Perdomo is shameful. Junior should have taken such issues to Cabinet and pressured his Cabinet colleague and government to take the “drastic actions” which are so clearly necessary. If Junior stands beside his people as he continuously claims, then do the right thing; tell Perdomo that the people of San Pedro want his resignation and pronto. If Junior has sufficient bolas, then he needs to stop playing footsy with such a delicate situation and do the right thing. The people on Ambergris Caye will not stand and wait until something even more drastic happens for some drastic measures to be implemented. Do it now! Enough is enough, we are tired of Perdomo, Junior and the stack of incompetent UDP fools.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I am a PUP. From the time I was brought into this world my family has done a good job in teaching me that the PUP is not only a Party, but an extended part of a bigger family, or so I was taught. I can count on one hand the occasions that I have gone publicly, lashing out at my fellow party members who have not acted according to the principles and philosophy of the PUP. In fact I have even reserved my criticism of those that have continuously taken every opportunity to disrespect our Party Leader. Since the election of our new Party Leader two years ago, there have been nothing but negative remarks and bad mouthing from some elements that consider themselves TRUE PUP. We over this side have been nothing but tolerant, respectable and to some extent far beyond courteous with those negative elements. But there is a point where I believe we must say enough is enough. Sometimes we have to remind those elements that regardless of their attitude, we will and shall move on in the rebuilding of our beloved PUP family.

The Father of the Nation and our former Prime Minister and Party Leader Rt. Hon. George Price has taught us that as true PUP we must always be respectful and loyal to our Party Leader and Party regardless of who that leader is. If we cannot respect the person heading our family then we have lost respect for ourselves and our own identity. In other words, if we cannot respect the Leader of the PUP, then we have no respect for our Party and our identity as a PUP. Because it is out of respect for oneself that love grows, similarly it is out of respect to our Party that the love towards our Party grows.  But along with respect comes a word that many times we have taken for granted – LOYALTY.

Again, growing up within the PUP family, Mr. Price taught us that being LOYAL to our Party Leader and our Party is one of the key ingredients in our Party being successful time after time. We must be loyal to the philosophy and objectives of our Party. Our objectives at this time are to regain the confidence of our fallen PUPs; we must regain the trust of those that have lost faith in us; our objective is to rebuild the PUP and return it to the party of nation building. In order for this to happen, we must give our unquestioning support to the Leader. Through our actions, we should be able to show our Party Leader that when he calls for our support to rebuild our party, we are willing to answer the call. If we are unable to show our support for our Party Leader, then we cannot expect him to move forward. Our Party Leader must be able to depend on us so that he can entrust us with the responsibility of moving forward. But how can he entrust such responsibility on us if we ourselves are not loyal to him?

There is no doubt in my mind that as true party supporters, we honestly want to move forward along with Party Leader John Briceno. There is also no doubt in my mind that our rank and file wants our Party to move on. And similarly it is also clear to me that there is another set of elements that want to control our Party along with its leadership. May I remind those elements that this PUP does not belong to a particular group of elite people; it belongs to its membership. The owners of this party are those of us who toil day in and day out to see the party move on. The owners of the PUP are all those foot soldiers who are ready to stand up against the UDP government come hell or high water; the PUP is for those who are at the forefront of the campaign during the village council elections. The PUP belongs to those members who are working to rebuild the unity of this party; those that are fighting the injustices of the UDP and standing up to in defense of the PUP.  It is because the true owners of the PUP elected Hon. John Briceno as the Leader of our party that we as TRUE PUP should respected him.

Just as I have been loyal to George Price and Said Musa when they were leaders, I remain loyal to John Briceno as my Leader. That was the way George Price taught me and no one will change the way he taught me. Those who call themselves true PUP and cannot respect our new Leader; it simple means that they have gone against the teachings of Mr. Price; to be respectful and loyal to our Leader and Party. For those of us (True PUP) who despite our differences have embraced our new leader, then let’s move on. Let’s continue to re-unite our troops, rally behind our leader and get ready for the 2013 battle. Que Viva John Briceno! Que Viva nuesto PUP!