Head of State Tenders Resignation

The Governor General of Belize Sir Colville Young tendered his resignation on April fourth. In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, the Governor General noted that he is resigning in keeping with a request made by the Prime Minster on March fifteenth, 2021.  He noted that the PM should not hesitate to call on him for further service during retirement.  The recent death of Sir Colville Young’s predecessor, Dame Minita Gordon brought to light the maltreatment she received after she demitted office.  PM Briceño says he will seek to ensure changes for future G.G.s.

John Briceño

Prime Minster John Briceño

“I will not discuss the discussion I had with the governor general. I will tell you I have great respect and admiration for the Governor General. He has served us well. And we need to be as a nation grateful for the work he has done. Now, what we suppose to be ashamed as a government, all since Dame Minita Gordon, is the way we have treated our governor generals. I mean if you look at the salary the present governor general is getting, it is shameful for the head of state to be getting paid four thousand dollars a month. It is shameful that the Governor General does not have a health insurance. It is shameful that the pension he is going to get is going to be a pittance. And, we have said that that need to be fixed. Even though we are going through a tough economic time right now, we are going to fix it. And I have given my commitment to the family that we are going to do everything to fix that so that he can also benefit from the improved pension that we want to put in place for the Governor General.”

Paul Lopez

“Who will be his replacement?”

Prime Minster John Briceño

“We have not decided that at this time.”