Do you support a shutdown of the business community?
A crime wave continues to grip the. The statistics are shocking, since the beginning of September there have been thirteen reported murders; in Belize City alone, seven persons have been killed in fourteen days, including an eight year old girl early on Sunday morning. The public wants urgent action to restore security in the streets. Tonight we ask the question: Do you support a shutdown of the business community to signal your dissatisfaction with the government’s approach to the crime situation? Send your comments and responses using your SMART phones to 8668 or post your vote on our e-poll at channel5belize.com. You can also send an e-mail with your comments to questions@channel5belize.com.
MOST DEFINITELY! The polling thing doesn’t seem to be up to date yet, so I’m going to express my thoughts through this comment. I think we should definitely “go on business strike” if I could call it that. The message won’t be understood unless we carry out some serious measures, and I really think this is a great way to make the government alert to the problem at hand. Our country is becoming a scarier and scarier place to live. All the girls in my classroom are saying that when they go away to university, they won’t come back. The situation is rough indeed, and if it continues this way, there is no positive certainty about Belize’s future. And that’s an extremely sad thing to say, seeing as to how all of us are Belizeans. If shutting down the business community for a day is going to instill the message in the heads of our beloved government, then we simply gotta do what we gotta do.
No, I support a HUGE public demonstration, followed by organizing the community into anti-crime watch groups, armed at least with cameras and radios. It’s our country, we can’t look to anyone else to save it but ourselves. Failing to try to do anything, we deserve the suffering we let the animals inflict on us.
No. I would prefer to see Belizeans protest with the one thing they still have left; buying power. Stop buying crap they do not need & cannot afford & make it a long term commitment. Without the tax revenues, the Government will pay attention.
To be very honest with you, shutting down the country for a day will not make the murderers stop killing people. What the government need to do is start arresting all the gang bouys an lock them up. The police know the bad ones lock them up and throw away the key. The government need to build another prison, because too much parasites out there, so when they start to collect them, they put them in there, no feed them starve them.
Yes, maybe that will send a strong enough message to the authorities that what they are currently doing to fight crime is just NOT cutting it!!
yes i support this action but not for a day for a week and we need to get rid of this gov now before its too late send this pm packing and his buddies .
the entire country would suffer millions in economic loss in one day and that kind of strategy would still not achieve its intended purpose
Yes I support this shutdown – country wide – PLEASE – for a start. And could we please start with a curfew in all Cities and major towns; better yet even in villages. 7 p.m – no one under 18 yrs of age on streets. 10 pm no one on the streets – during the week – extend a bit till 12 pm on weekends.
Initially, I was apprehensive as to what a one-day shut down can do in sending a message to criminal elements and to the Government of Belize. However, after further consideration, it has the potential to be very effective in sending a clear message to the previously mentioned parties. A one-day shutdown means that there will be no business transactions for that day, ergo no GST will be collected for that day – affects GOB revenue (although this effect would be minimal, it would be tangible). Still, I fear that the GOB would not consider this initiative seriously without the participation of major businesses including the main supermarkets, our utility companies, statutory bodies, etc.
shutting down of the business will not help the crime low down indeed especially it’s been alert to them so they are dirst one to purchase their stuff in store than the innocent ppl. so govenment of bz need to do something about this. even if they go to jail thay are being feed. it should be gud that prisoners no get food nor water to drink . let them starve so that they know what it si to be on jail maybe that will limited the case of crime around us in belize.
i know for a fact that police know these bad boys on street only they are being bribe not tho lead in the investigation .
so wake up belizean people!!!!!!
let fight to move this government of belize in his position since he is the one who is leading the crime too
i.m willing to close my office and have our staff take a stand for this crime issue we have, Barrow till when will you listen to us Belizeans? are you deaf ? bring the death penalty before we cast you away like zelaya. and after the shut down a massive protest infront of the national assembly asking for the death penalty to be brought back.
I say, we have a great demonstration and if the criminals fail to listen, then we take them on one by one.
You cannot protest if the Government does not have the resources to fight crimes. The Government of Belize need to Get a lots of thing in place. First they need to give training to their police officer then they need to provide them with basic materials like communications equipment like setting up a 911 system. Then provide them a car to patrol city, highway, villages and then get some good detective and some good people in the court system.
Begin with this! Time for action and this shut down will hit GOB where it hurts the most, their pockets! This will be a wake up call for our leaders to take action on crime. Business owners should also send messages via the media that they want something to be done about these outrageous criminal acitivity taking over the old city…..
Please tell me what this would do for Belize? Someone? Anyone? This would not accomplish anything but have the individuals committing the crime wait the next day to buy their $2 dolla chicken. Would have to agree with Rod. No one in the Government cares about the people in Belize and it will always be like this. We have the same individuals over and over taking charge of Belize. If it’s not their siblings it’s their friends. I recommend that the Belizeans ….. in a bag and leave it in front of the PM house with a note that says this is what you are full of.
We need stricter sentences and more convictions, we need for repeat offenders to stay where they belong “jail” a one day shutting down on businesses is just a laugh for these animals. Offenders commit murders, burglaries and get bail and do it worse the second time. Come on GOB it’s your full support and stricter laws we need. Bring back the death penalties for murderers and child molestors.
The shutdown is only a start – we need to sit and look at the problem in a very comprehensive manner … there are things the government must do – but there are still things we as individuals can do. It took years to get us here and it will take years to reverse it but we must start somewhere… lets have our long-terms strategic plan and our short-term one as well. I can thinks of immediate steps that can be taken.
I agree with the shutdown as a first step, this should be followed by other measures such as revisiting the granting of liquor licenses and opening and closing hours of clubs and liquor establishments.
I think that the shutdown will definately send a message to the government.It will show the government that the belizean people,Like the chinese community ,can stand together and unite.Businesses are the spots targeted by these criminals so if the business owners do not cooperate they should think that one of these days the same thugs will knock at their door.IN addition if this protest does not raise the red flags for the government,I believe that the community should take matters into their own hands.Have you ever heard of what happens to a thief in other countries,well they are beaten and burnt to death by the community.Not the police,the police come to save the thieves from the community.
Crime has little or nothing to do with politics. When are we going to stop involving politics in every bad thing that happens in Belize. Wether it’s PUP, UDP or whichever political party leading our country currently, crime will always be a fact. With that said, In my opinion, what we have to accept is that even if we go on a strike or protest or those sort of things, if we belizeans don’t give our children the proper education AT HOME, nothing much is going to change. Instead, what will happen is, if the police force starts to do more regarding crimes, all we are going to achieve is have a bunch of criminals packed in jail being fed with our own tax money.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not against encarcerating criminals. That is one of the methods to fight crime but not the only one.
So please, let’s take a deep breath, think clearly for a moment. Not just what we can achieve with a strike in a short-term; let’s also think about its repercussion. NO BUSINESS ACTIVITY = NO TAXES. NO TAXES = NO DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR COUNTRY. Believe it or not, one day without business is a lot.
Let’s brain storm with intelligent ideas. Let’s leave politics, corruption, hatred and every negative feeling aside for a moment and think what can we do (something positive) to help our country, without inivolving violence and disrespect.
All we need is a bit of organization. I agree with Robert. That’s what I call intelligent ideas: anti-crime watch group which requires us, as a community, and the police to get involved working as a team. It’s OUR country, not only the police force’s country, therefore, WE all need to watch over it.
God Bless you all and let’s pray that we make the right choices for our beautiful Belize!
Belize does not need a Defence Force. The Government should have them trained and incorporate them with the Police force.Some of their Officers should be sent for special Police training.The Government should asdlo institute a dawn to dusk curfew, use the curfew to initiate raids on suspect
criminals.
Our Government is a waste of time if you asked me. From observation, they are all about bettering themselves and the heck with our nation. I am really trying to see one good thing they did from the time they were elected. But then again they don’t care what is happening on the streets it seems and if they do they can surely fool us. Our PM is suppose to be a trained attorney and his cabinet is supposed to be” educated” people, I am sure that they can come up with some way to invest in FORENSIC EQUIPMENT AND THE HUMAN RESOURCE to operate these equipment. Come on, our Belize is not moving forward it is moving backwards if you ask me. I am tired of hearing that cases are thrown out for lack of evidence. Further, this DPP seems not to be trying to use her intelligence to use other sources instead of witnesses to win cases. Come on, the DPP’s office can spend some time teaching the police how to process a crime scene and how to investigate and try not to rely on witnesses as it makes no sense these days to rely on witness if I was a witness to a crime I won’t testify as less than an hour I would be dead that is the reality.
This is what I got to say to Belizeans, quit voting for these same parties blue or red, put in independent people. We need a change, new ideas, etc. The UDP is a selfish government, they only assist their own and the PUP were corrupt, but then again at least I saw the small man was being handle regardless of what colour they were under the PUP government, crime was not this horrible. The UDP even their own they make outcast. We need to take back Belize and make it how it once was, at least I can say that we were a God fearing nation, now it seems we worship Satan.
Is dis ah joke or some ting cause i would really wah know weh shutting down wah do.Pleez cme wit smeting betta all weh dem ppl wah dah wah free day off fi gather and plot sme mo crime. so fi all dem ppl weh seh yes explain weh it wah do