Two women to head legislative bodies

In related news, two other appointments were announced today. For the first time in history, Belize will have a woman Speaker of the House, as Dangriga’s Sylvia Flores has been selected to preside over that body. As for the Senate, another woman from the south has been put in charge. She is Elizabeth Zabaneh, better known as Betty. Mrs. Zabaneh is a longtime community leader from Independence Village. Names of three more P.U.P. Senators should be announced on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the oath of office wasn’t the only swearing that the Cabinet members had to do today. A release from the office of the Prime Minister says all members signed an oath of secrecy, pledging to keep Cabinet meetings strictly confidential and not to disclose information from that body without authority. Highlights of the eleven-point pledge are that each Cabinet member will be held accountable for their public actions, even to the point of going to court and that their term of office will depend heavily on their performance in the assigned ministries. There is no shortage of applicants for the jobs.