Opposition airs grievances, boycotts House
While the People’s United Party was not represented today in the House, its leadership did not use the morning to catch up on their sleep. They held a press conference in Belize City to let the public know exactly what was on their minds. Patrick Jones
reports.
There were five main issues on the agenda for this morning’s press conference, including lingering problems with re-registration, the commission of inquiry investigating P.U.P. Leader Said Musa and the government’s income and business tax legislation. Senator Dolores Balderamos Garcia, in presenting her party’s position on re-registration, said that hundreds of people countrywide continue to be hampered in their efforts to get onto the register of electors.
Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Port Loyola
“Last weekend, early this week and since yesterday, a Belize City Election Office has been without film, frustrating voters and causing them to make several visits to complete their application.
Our party is also troubled by the manner in which constituencies are re-aligned, concerned by a practice which allows the Chief Elections Officer the sole discretion to determine one’s citizenship when bonafide Belizeans are without proof of citizenship.”
And the P.U.P. did not just make the assertions, they even provided evidence of an elderly man from San Antonio Village in the Cayo district whom they claim has burned a path to the Elections and Boundaries Office trying to be re-registered.
Balderamos-Garcia says her party condemns Statutory Instrument fifty seven of 1998 which allows voters to be removed from the register if they cannot prove that they were qualified at the time of the application. On the issue of the General Election, Queen’s Square hopeful Richard Bradley told the gathering that each day beyond the constitutional five years, presents new possibility for corruption.
Richard Bradley, Queen’s Square
“A letter dated tenth of June 1998 from the Prime Minister, Manuel Esquivel in which he has taken over tooth brushes, tooth pastes, pampers, Similac and many other items such as soap, lotion and shampoo from the hospital and he is inviting people in his constituency to come out on the twenty first of June to receive these things in his area. This is a terrible thing for a man who is holding such a high position. I have been given another letter in which the Cabinet Secretary of this country is saying that on behalf of the Prime Minister, approval has been granted for them to appoint an Assistant Commissioner of Transport on a salary of twenty three thousand dollars per year, and this person whose name is here in the letter has in fact seen walking around daily with the Prime Minister doing campaign work in his constituency. Under the laws of Belize, only the Public Service Commission can appoint a public officer to this particular position. And these are just two of the latest examples why when five years is up, we must have elections in this country.”
Taking aim at the government’s Business tax proposal, Party Leader Said Musa said the whole concept is inflationary and promised that if elected, the P.U.P. would move swiftly to amend the Act.
Said Musa, Leader, P.U.P.
“Significantly lower the rates so as to reduce the inflationary pressure. Specifically exempt credit unions and cooperatives from the tax; exempt all businesses grossing less than a hundred thousand dollars from paying the tax. Ensure that farmers and fisher-folks grossing less than a hundred thousand dollars are not taxed. Extend the one year exemption from newly established business to three years with special consideration for agriculture; remove the special treatment given to B.T.L. shareholders; honor existing agreements; debt write offs and carry forward losses and allow tax deduction for contribution to charity, education, sports and culture. These are some of the amendments that we will certainly put to this new revenue advisory board in order to make some sense out of this business tax, but in fact the entire business tax portion of the income tax amendment law will be put for review to that board.”
On the issue of the Commission of Inquiry investigating his handling of the Economic Citizenship program during the last P.U.P. administration, Musa says this is the sixth attempt to try and find him liable for any wrong doing and that this two-man commission will no doubt suffer the same fate as its predecessors.
Said Musa
“The fact of the matter is despite all these inquiries, despite the fact that their own Minister, Hubert Elrington carried out his own witch-hunt in the public accounts committee, they still have not had any evidence against me or any member of the People’s United Party. But now they are carrying out this last minute Commission of Inquiry as a charade to try and use it for election campaign purposes. They have the B.I.S. camera in there, at taxpayers expenses, trying to humiliate and embarrass me as the Leader of the People’s United Party. I have made the announcement today that I will be attending the Commission of Inquiry because we respect the rule of law, but the truth of the matter is we have absolutely no respect for that inquiry. It’s a bogus commission, partisan and totally giving in to the whims and fancy of the government.”
Another issue raised at the press conference, was the problem of the lack of water that the people of San Antonio are experiencing, despite the fact that they have a brand new million dollar water system in their village. Cayo Central standard bearer, Daniel Silva said that if government had looked at previous studies conducted in the area, the people of the area would not be in the predicament they now find themselves in.
Daniel Silva, Cayo Central
“That area has a problem with water and Sam Waight in the past tried to dig wells and he could not find water in that area. It’s not enough to supply the whole village but these people in their haste to make political mileage, because that is why they cut up the Cayo Central area, because he was losing in the other areas, so he thought if he could fool the people with a water system but he did not do his homework and the only way we could get water in that village is to bring it from the river. That is what Mr. Waight was planning.”
And after the microphones were all turned off, the P.U.P. and their supporters were on the road – destination, Santa Elena, Cayo for the seventh session of the People’s Assembly. Patrick Jones, for News Five.
With regard to the P.U.P. proposals on the business tax, while some of Musa’s objections had been satisfied by today’s amendments in the House, others, particularly that applying to carried forward losses, represent a significant departure from the government sponsored legislation.
