Musa points to achievements, responds to corruption
It is his first election campaign as an incumbent Prime Minister, and coming off a twenty-six to three margin in the House of Representatives you would think Said Musa is coasting. But the Belizean electorate is a fickle one and since independence in 1981 no government has ever been elected to a second consecutive term. This morning, with just a little over a week until election day, News Director Stewart Krohn and I sat down with the P.U.P. Leader to probe beyond the political rhetoric. In our first question we asked Musa how the idealistic rookie politician of 1974 has changed on his way to reaching the pinnacle of national power almost thirty years later.
Said Musa, Party Leader, P.U.P.
“There’s a big difference between looking from the outside in and being in there dealing with the humongous problems of a developing country, and you have to set your priorities and you have to focus yourself. Back in ’74, I was a little more romantic perhaps, a little more free in the sense of being able to speculate and to dream more. Now we have to deal with the hard pragmatic issues that affect people on a day-to-day basis. People want ownership, people want to get their piece of land, people want to own their own homes, people need jobs. We have done a lot in meeting that goal, but there is still a lot to be done. Much has been accomplished but much more remains to be done.”
Janelle Chanona
“Now in this last week before elections, you talk to operatives in both political camps and everybody is down-the-line confident. Do you worry that people, in the election season, are trying to get what they can get and are selling the same dream to both political parties?”
Prime Minister Said Musa
“There is a bit of that clearly, but I would say that in this election, people have not been afraid to identify. We have seen a tremendous outpouring of support for the People’s United Party, based on our performance and based on the hope that we hold out to our people. And it’s not a hope based on baseless information, they have seen, they can look at the record of the People’s United Party and to realize that we have accomplished. And therefore, I think the support that we see is genuine. And I think never before have we seen tens of thousands of people coming out clearly identifying with the People’s United Party. Yes, in their homes some people will hedge their bets and say yes to both parties, but by and large, there has been a tremendous outpouring of support for the People’s United Party which is believe is genuine.”
Stewart Krohn
“The United Democratic Party is basing its entire campaign on the issue of corruption. With regard to this issue, looking back on the last four and a half years, is there anything you would have done differently?”
Prime Minister Said Musa
“I believe that the best antidote to the germ of corruption is spotlight, sunshine if you light on the activity whether it be in the public sector or the private sector and it takes two to tango, let us never forget that. I think we have to continue with what we’ve started in recognizing and respecting the freedom of the media, the press. I think that’s a very important element in the fight against corruption. But I think too people realize that governments have an aversion towards taking action against their own, irrespective of party. What we will do differently this time is bring in international, more international spotlight.”
Janelle Chanona
“Given that the United Democratic Party has promised to keep the anti-corruption platform through to March fifth and they’ve promised to keep coming this week with more scandals, improprieties, irregularities in your administration…can the P.U.P. afford to keep taking these hits in this the final week before elections?”
Prime Minister Said Musa
“Well let’s look at this whole issue of corruption. First of all, I think it is important to recognize that the U.D.P. has offered nothing positive to the people in terms of their manifesto, which is really a zero document. Mr. Barrow has promised zero tolerance on the issue of corruption and he clearly has been identified with zero. Because when you look at what he has done as a politician in his own constituency, he’s done nothing for the people of Queen Square. How serious can we take him when he talks about seriously about zero tolerance on corruption? Well, he himself has said there were at least two ministers in his Cabinet 1993-1998 who were corrupt, and yet they ran those Ministers in ’98. So it wasn’t Barrow or Mr. Esquivel that took action against those ministers, it was the people that voted them out.”
Janelle Chanona
“So that will be the P.U.P. line, to let any Minister who’s been accused of corruption, let the people decide, the party won’t take any action?”
Prime Minister Said Musa
“No. No, I am dealing with the question of credibility here. And I am telling you that Mr. Barrow’s credibility on the issue of corruption is zero. Now clearly, as I have said earlier, the germ of corruption is something we have to continue to fight and we will fight it and no I will not sit by and allow corruption just to take place in the People’s United Party government. We will fight corruption and we will deal with it.”
Stewart Krohn
“Prime Minister, you raised the issue of contracts. Let’s look at the contract you signed with Novelos that basically gives him what amounts to a fifteen or even twenty-five year exclusive license for every major bus run in the country. Could you explain why your government would give one company this kind of contract?”
Prime Minister Said Musa
“The Novelos have not been granted any exclusivity. They have not been granted a monopoly. The documents signed by the Minister was an attempt to provide a franchise to the Novelo family, a Belizean family that has invested substantial amounts of money in public transportation in our country. Obviously with that size of investment, they need to ensure, they and their bankers, that in any given year there would be no arbitrary move to take away their licenses. So an attempt was made to give them that level of long term stability in sort of a franchise on existing routes.”
“In fact when you look at that so called document, many conditions were intended to be put in there such as the type of additional investments they would have to make in improving and modernizing their fleet, in terms of building more comfortable bus terminals, these things were never settled so no exclusivity was granted.”
Stewart Krohn
“Prime Minister I really don’t want to belabour this one point, but as an old judge once said, I believe it was Justice Malone, in reference to a friend of ours who was on the witness stand. He said, “You can’t hunt with the hounds and run with the hares.” You can’t have it both ways Prime Minister.”
Prime Minister Said Musa
“I don’t think it’s an appropriate analogy; it’s not a question of having it both ways. I am telling you that when I said to a journalist that no exclusivity had been granted to Novelo that is a fact.”
Stewart Krohn
“So back to my example then. If I came in with fifty million dollar investment to operate a competing bus line, you would look at my application favourably, or would my investment be peremptorily refused because a document exists granting what appears to be an exclusive franchise to somebody else.”
Prime Minister Said Musa
“I think in the climate of Belize, with the limited size of the market, you would not invest fifty million dollars in the bus industry unless you intend to buy out the Novelos.”
Janelle Chanona
“The extensive, the expensive the “in your face” media campaign that the P.U.P. has launched. Has it worked for the party?”
Prime Minister Said Musa
“Let us not forget that in a lot of these songs, whether it be “Living in a Good Country”, or “Welcome to the Party” or “Whap Dem”, they all, if you listen to the lyrics, they have a message. So we have been able to get the message out to through the universal medium of music, the most exciting medium if you like as opposed to dry ideological polemics…that day is over. People want it straight and they want it direct and they get it through the music. And I would say that the love fests have also allowed us to bring in something like fifty of our local talent, musicians, to be a part of this very exciting, vibrant campaign of the People’s United Party. Does it work? It certainly has worked for the People’s United Party.”
Stewart Krohn
“The last four and a half years as Prime Minister, the greatest single accomplishment of your government.”
Prime Minister Said Musa
“Greatest accomplishment, we have many great accomplishments Stewart. I think one of the greatest accomplishment has been to maintain a strong democracy in Belize where people are not afraid to speak their mind, freedom of the press, an independent judiciary. I believe the rule of law is a fundamental issue in any question about governance. It is so vital that we maintain that independence of the judiciary, and independent D.P.P., having these institutions to deal with issues that may corrupt, Ombudsman, Contractor General and so on on the one side. On the other side, that despite these four storms, two major hurricanes that have struck Belize: Hurricane Keith, Hurricane Iris, Tropical Storm Chantal, and of course Mitch, which caused a lot of destruction as well. Despite all these adversities, Belize stands out as a glowing example of a country that has withstood all these adversities and has been able to maintain a strong growing economy of a six point seven percent average G.D.P. growth throughout this past five years in our term. I think that says a lot for our country.”
