Cordel Hyde Says Government Too Proud to Alter Course

Cordel Hyde

Lake Independence area representative Cordel Hyde, speaking after Belmopan representative John Saldivar, called the budget a “slap in the face” after the recent municipal election results. According to Hyde, despite the people’s decision on March seventh, the government has insisted it will not alter course, and that may prove to be a fateful decision.

Cordel Hyde, Area Rep., Lake Independence

“If you listen to those on the other side, you would think they could do no wrong; it was the people in Belize City, and Orange Walk, and Corozal that got it all wrong. They can so easily see the splinter in other people’s eyes, but so unable to see the plank in their own eyes. As leaders, we must be able to see where we are wrong, and right our wrongs. We must not be too arrogant to say we made mistakes. But I also read somewhere that to recognize error, or to alter course, is often the most repugnant thing to a party in power. And it’s clear with this Budget, that the Government has not heeded the message of the Belizean people; they will not alter course. This Budget fails on the mightiest internal struggles of our time, Madam Speaker. It offers nothing to end poverty. It offers no new jobs; no new homes; no antidote to the cost of living; no stanching of rising unemployment; no increase in the minimum wage; no increase in social programs; no answer to the crime problems; no fundamental change in the way we do business; absolutely no new ideas. This is what the people of Belize City rejected on March seventh – the same projects and profits over people approach; the same prioritizing special interests over the people’s interest, the same wasteful spending projects. This Budget will continue to see a handful of people continue to get really rich; while the vast majority of our people remain really poor. In fact in some ways, in many ways, this Budget is a slap in the people’s face.”