N.T.U.C.B. Weighs in on Crime in Belize

Marvin Mora

Today the National Trade Union Congress of Belize issued a press release to sound off on the spate of killings and crime in Belize. The N.T.U.C.B. says that it has been monitoring the current crime situation given its negative impact on workers in Belize. The N.T.U.C.B. condemns the violent crimes, including murders, which the release says are “manifestations of an inequitable economy that has poor social protections in place.” Today President Marvin Mora told us that corruption is at the heart of the problem.

Marvin Mora, President, N.T.U.C.B.

“The phenomenon of corruption yields as a result the culture of crime. In our society, for many years we have been trying this approach where we believe that the police will solve crime and they will be able to curtail it down. The reality is that crime is an issue of culture and if it is an issue of culture it is definitely being supported by the entire system of governance; by the entire socio-economic fabric of our country. So, we cannot walk away from it by taking full responsibility. And I think that is one of the things that we have changed in the way we view the issue of crime. We realize that everyone has a part to play and if we want to change what we currently have as the status quo in our country then we must be able to take that full responsibility upon ourselves as organizations, as individuals and start to think what we can do to drive the culture in a different direction.   I believe that the solution itself will come from the people. It will come from the N.G.O.s, the police, the government and the opposition and other groups if it is their view they want to change current situation. The issue of crime is an issue that has been explored and studied by those groups (Crooks Report & Gaye Reports) of experts and they have provided some level of report in a detailed form to would allow the people making polices and those people in the positions of authority to be able to some plans that will be able to, in the longer run and mid terms be able to provide some sort of relief as we move away from a society that is embedded in this culture of crime.”

We’ll have more from Mora in Tuesday night’s newscast.