Cordel Hyde Says Teachers Want Communication with Government

Cordel Hyde

People’s United Party area representative for Lake Independence, Cordel Hyde, was one of several prominent politicians of the blue party to march in green with the teachers today. He is also one of two former Ministers of Education who participated – the other being Francis Fonseca. So we asked: how would he have handled this situation if he were in charge? Hyde, who says he never faced this kind of insurrection while in the post, believes that communication is a key factor.

Cordel Hyde, Former Minister of Education

“The Government is not listening to the people yo know. The people are talking straight up to the government—really straight up, really clear. But they are not listening. Everything that comes out of the Minister of Education’s mouth is to counter something, is contentious, is to deal with something that was said or was done, or not said or not done.  Every word coming out of the Prime Minister’s mouth is to discredit the teachers.  You heard the Minister of Foreign Affairs recently say that they are the smartest, brightest people this side of the equator, while the teachers are the dumbest. They are not listening because if they were listening, they would deal with this. The issues are very simple area; very, very simple. Why can’t you sign the UN Convention Against Corruption, post haste? What is the problem? We’ve been going at this for eight years. Why not sign? They know that signing is the easiest part of this. It is the ratification; it is the adhering to the convention that will be challenging.”

Hyde also noted that the introduction of a thirteenth Senator would not rob the Government of its ability to pass legislation but would force greater bipartisanship. On the matter of the Integrity Commission, he stated that if no Belizeans were willing to serve, for instance, on the accountancy post, then the law could be amended to allow for CARICOM nationals to do so.