PM reacts to Mark King’s scandalous comments

Mark King

Minister of State Mark King came under fire recently for comments he made, claiming that they represented the policy of his government. King claimed that the government looks after, “U.D.P.s first, Belizeans second and P.U.P.s last.” Leader of the Opposition Francis Fonseca immediately demanded an apology from U.D.P. leader Dean Barrow on behalf of King, claiming that the comments were ignorant and arrogant. Well, he probably shouldn’t hold his breath waiting for that apology. According to PM Barrow, Minister of State Mark King was only being honest and that while it will be a cold day for that to change, it was not official government policy.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

Dean Barrow

“Let me say that I wish the remarks had not been made by the minister, but let us not be hypocrites, the spoils system in terms of politicians always wanting to favour those that voted for them or to treat them preferentially has been around for time immemorial and not just in Belize. So the minister was being honest; he was not being hypocritical. I would certainly like to see that kind of a culture changed, but I suspect it will be a cold day in hell before we actually succeed. In any event, that is not the official policy of this government. The official policy of this government is to treat Belizeans as equally as possible and to try to be a government for all. That in the details in the operation of the system, we will not reach nirvana is a given; life is real. But there is a difference between making errors in that regard and actually saying it is a policy to discriminate. Such a policy cannot and will not be the policy of the United Democratic Party government.”