Majority of Governance Commission resigns
As an advisory board, they’ve kept out of the headlines, but tonight, resignation en mass by members of the Belize Governance Improvement Commission is a major blow to the Musa administration and its promises of political reform. According to a press release issued by the commission, twelve of the seventeen appointed members have submitted a joint letter of resignation to the Prime Minister, which is dated November third. The resigning members are: Chairman David Gibson, vice chair Luz Longsworth, Dylan Reneau, Godwin Hulse, Arturo Vasquez, Pulcheria Teul, Dylan Vernon, John Saldivar, Minelva Johnson, Anthony Chanona, Dorrick Wright, and Herbert Wiltshire.
Remaining members include Abdala Bedran, Reverend Eugene Crawford, Anna Myvette, Minister Sylvia Flores and Michael Polonio. Tonight we understand that of those five, more resignations are possible as some representatives were not able to receive a mandate from their respective organisations.
As to why the members have resigned, this afternoon the former Vice Chair of the B.G.I.C., Luz Longsworth, maintained that for one reason or another, Belmopan has dragged its feet in implementing key policies regarding governance and reform.
Luz Longsworth, Fmr. Vice Chair, B.G.I.C.
?Certainly we feel that there is no two ways about it, there has to be real structure, real commitment for it to work in this way, otherwise it?s just going to be another commission that fails. And unfortunately?I know that I spoke with you when I was appointed and I said I would be honest with the public and I can say honestly this structure is not working as we had hoped and I feel a great sense personally of regret about that. But I would like to assure the public that those of us who have chosen to resign have not been defeated, we just feel that we can evolve into perhaps another way of attacking the issues in a more effective way than we are now.?
?There is a variety of reasons that everyone has. Some are more personal, but generally we share the sense that the management arrangements, the commitment to the commission as a partner in the governance process is not there. And so we feel that it is time that we leave because we are not doing what we thought we would be able to do, so we have decided to resign.?
Janelle Chanona
?Is this a move of desperation, had you been making petition, calls to government previous to this position??
Luz Longsworth
?We had always had open communication with the Prime Minister?s office to whom we report and with the Prime Minister himself. So the Prime Minister is very aware of our terms in terms of what we wanted to see the commission evolve into. Our terms of reference needed to be properly drafted, we suggested legislation so that we could have more teeth, which I know is what the public said, that we were a toothless tiger and so we were asking for some additional powers. Those things were very clear with the Prime Minister so I am sure that it?s not a surprise.?
According to the press release, the three major reasons for the resignations are ambiguity in the commission’s mandate which have not been clarified, lack of serious response to the commission’s recommendations, and government’s implementation of major reforms. Without adequate–or in some cases–any consultations with the commission.
