Social partners rise to support, but the government casts the deciding vote
Lisa Shoman
As we said earlier in the newscast, the motion for a senate-select committee did not pass in the senate this evening. That’s because the opposition questioned the casting vote by the president of the senate on the basis that only senators can vote and Marco Pech is not a senator. That’s how it ended on the senate floor this evening. On Thursday, we will have a detailed report of the proceedings, but here is an excerpt of what happened.
Lisa Shoman, P.U.P. Senator
“On a point of order, the president doesn’t have a casting vote in this matter. I refer to the constitution at section sixty-one subsection three. The president of the senate shall have a casting vote in the event of an equality of vote in respect of any business at a meeting of the senate providing that if the president of the senate is a senator, he shall have an original, but not a casting vote. And (B) is not a senator he shall not have a vote when the senate is deciding on any matter referred to in section sixty-one (A) to (D) of this constitution. I’m sorry Mister President but you don’t have a casting vote in this matter.”
Marco Pech, President, Senate
Marco Pech
“Senators, I’ll read the…the outcome of the division and this is the outcome. Six senators in favor and seven against. So I think the NOs have it.”
Lisa Shoman
“No Mister President, you don’t have a casting vote. It is six-six. There may be a deadlock, but under the constitution of Belize, you don’t have a casting vote with all due respect.”
Marco Pech
“I recognize the leader of government business.”
Godwin Hulse, Senator for Government Business
“Mister President, I move that the senate now do adjourn.”
What is it that Senator Hulse stands for now??? It seems that all the spirit he demonstrated in the past against our now opposition has now been relegated to the back burner. Why is it that honourable men do not stand on the side of right and do the honourable thing? Senator Hulse, please do the right thing and allow this investigation to proceed. If there is nothing to hide, then let it proceed… A famous quote, ” evil triumphs when good men stand aside and do nothing”.
PPerriott
WTF ? This lady reads out clearly that the president has a casting vote in the event of an equality of vote on ANY business of the senate and then goes on to say ” am sorry Mr. President you do not have a vote”. is she stupid??? am at a lost on this one. Help me someone.
Marco Pech, you have disgrace yourself. You have gone from grass to rass to madarass. What moral example are we setting for future leaders, when corruption is blatant, the people are tired of the greed and hustling taking place and Marco Pech, even after he was told he cannot vote on this matter still wanted to. It will be interesting to see what the resulting vote actually recorded in the book will be .
If your conscience tells you something is totally corrupt and morally wrong, you should not give it your support, and if you have to loose your job, then so be it. Instead what we are witnessing, are men and women, who are willing to go to hell if Barrow ask them to, as long as the truth is being suppressed. They have lost their love for Belize, and disgrace themselves for party. We are ashamed of all who voted no yesterday, in a case of this magnitude where the whole country want this man and the whole department to be thoroughly investigated. I am ashamed of what we have become!
HULSE – what about all this talk about being for the people, wanting transparency????
The politics of articulation
Policies of convenience.
Screw the the country by these super patriots.
There is more corrupt money to be made.
“We the people” need to shut this crap down! I move for a national shutdown protest. Lets call their hand. We can force them to fold. It is such a shame that here we sit with a beautiful and bountiful little country that is being lead to ruination by a bunch of corrupt, lawless, greedy, hypocritical, self-gratifying, dishonest, and criminal scumbags! Lets shut the whole bunch down now!
Shut down transportation and tourism, people refuse to work for criminal slave masters called the Barrow administration.
Criminal oligarchs, selling passports to criminals sitting in jail who never been to Belize, raising dead Mennonites to be passport bearers for Hezbollah or Al Queda.
They should be in prison instead of being lord masters.
One day to two weeks of what the French do to purge their government would be good medicine to show the politicians who really is control of the country.