Opposition Leader to Prime Minister: “The ugly truth is that yuh name stink dah road”

There has been a back and forth between PM Barrow and the Leader of the Opposition. The last salvo came from John Briceño today in response to Monday’s letter from the PM. In his February eighteenth letter, Briceño tells Barrow “The ugly truth is that yuh name stink dah road.” The political leaders exchanged harsh words through letters, the first being demands by Briceño regarding unconstitutional and criminal public spending, and unlawful contracts. Briceño’s darting words are a response to the Prime Minister’s February seventh letter in which Barrow takes a personal tone with Briceño, telling the Opposition Leader, “If you actually meant to be taken seriously, I tell you now that-no doubt fittingly-you are on a fool’s errand.” Briceño calls out Barrow, telling the outgoing Prime Minister that his letter is “full of personal attacks and big words which by now I would have thought you would have realized impresses no one but the person you see in the mirror. Your response for a man who holds the office of Prime Minister is a disservice to the people of Belize.” In his original letter, Briceño tells Barrow that the Chief Justice ruled that all the Supplementary Appropriations Acts which were taken to the National Assembly, covering the period 2004 – 2018 were unconstitutional and as such the profligate spending under Barrow’s leadership was illegal and most likely corrupt.  The PM’s view is that all Supplementary Appropriations were fully debated and overwhelmingly approved by Parliament during his tenure as Minister of Finance. But Briceño points out that the P.U.P. did not support those Bills which were passed with only support from the Government.  Briceño then tells Barrow that, “The ugly truth is that in all your diatribe, the fact remains that you have become the very thing you swore not to tolerate. You, Mr. Prime Minister, are the greatest hypocrite of them all.” Briceño ends his letter telling Barrow that he has the stain and stench of being the only Prime Minister of Belize that has been found by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to have contravened the Constitution.