Minister of Diaspora Relations Dismissive of Shyne Barrow’s Trip

Leader of the Opposition Shyne Barrow returned to Belize today after a tour in the U.S. where he met with several members of the U.S. Congress and city mayors.  In Newark City, Mayor Ras Baraka announced that he has officially made Newark a sister city to Belize City.  The Georgia Senate presented him with a Distinction of Honor Medal, and in Atlanta, the City Council declared August twentieth Shyne Barrow Day.  The Leader of the Opposition resumed contact with a number of his former Hip Hop musical colleagues, ensuring his trip was well circulated on U.S. media.  So, does the Briceño administration intend to leverage any of the connections Barrow has established? Here is what the Minister of Tourism and Diaspora Relations told reporters today.

Anthony Mahler

Anthony Mahler, Minister of Diaspora Relations

“You want me to tell you the truth?  I couldn’t care less about Jay-z or Fat Joe, or P-Diddy, or love or how ih name. They have done nothing for this country and they will do nothing for this country. And so I couldn’t care less. What we have to do is ensure that we seriously look at how we will rebuild the tourism industry, which represents forty percent of the economy. And, maybe it’s a comical moment for the media to cover that type of thing. We have been for months now, organizing our own trip to the United States, and we will continue to do so. The Diaspora is all over the world, it is not only in the United States. We have to talk to people all over the world. I believe strongly that have a part to play in the rebuilding of our economy with their expertise. Many of them have travelled international, many of them were born there, many of them acquired passports in the past, and many of them have money as well. They have expertise, they have knowledge, and they want to come back for tourism purposes, for investment purposes. So, we have to engage with them, we have to dialogue with them.”