Two lawyers fight it out in Freetown …
It’s a division that cannot be considered safe for either major party … and in 2008 two well known candidates are having a fight to the finish. News Five’s Janelle Chanona reports from the campaign trail in Belize City.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
In the public’s mind, lawyers are not always be there most popular professionals but for better or worse, in Belize, they pretty much run things. And in the 2008 general elections, they’re also running against each other.
There are eight attorneys seeking seats and in three constituencies, it’s lawyer versus lawyer: Queen Square, Pickstock and Freetown.
Michael Peyrefitte, U.D.P. Candidate, Freetown
“The policies of the Musas and Fonsecas have not worked. It has cost the Belizean people their lives and the future lives of their children so people are looking now to fresh leadership.”
Francis Fonseca, P.U.P. Candidate, Freetown
“I have worked hard every day as a Minister of Government to try to make life better for the people of Belize through my ministries, Education, Culture, Labour, the Attorney General’s ministry and I think people have recognized that I try hard, I work hard.”
The P.U.P. has represented Freetown since February 1993 when in a bi-election, Jorge Espat claimed the seat vacated by Derek Aikman due to bankruptcy. In 1998, Espat successfully defended his seat against Marisa Quan. But by the 2003 general elections, Espat had backed out of politics, which left an opening for Francis Fonseca to take on the U.D.P.’s Doug Singh. Fonseca was touted as the face of the new P.U.P. but during the last five years he’s been at the centre of several the Musa administration’s controversies.
Francis Fonseca
“Some of those challenges and problems we’ve caused ourselves and we have to face up to them but on every occasion that we’ve faced a challenge, Janelle, whether it be with Social Security, D.F.C. or U.H.S., I am always satisfied, I’ve always been satisfied in my own mind that we have, that that problem has arisen because of good faith on our part, it has not arisen out of bad faith. It has arisen because we were trying to do the right thing for the people of Belize. As long as I am satisfied with that, it’s easy for me to be a proud P.U.P. The P.U.P. way is yes we have a problem, let’s find a solution to that problem and on every occasion we have done just that.”
Michael Peyrefitte
“This government started off with the full confidence of the Belizean people, 26-3 majority and look at what they have done. We’ve gone from a five hundred million dollar national debt to an almost three million dollar debt and the simple rice and beans analysis of it is this: we are two and half billion dollars more in the hole and what do we have to show for it?”
Today Michael Peyrefitte is the U.D.P.’s hope in the Freetown division. He taught Economics early in his professional career but later left Belize to earn a law degree. Since coming home, he’s been a public critic of the ruling government but Peyrefitte is haunted by reports that he and party leader Dean Barrow have a strained relationship.
Michael Peyrefitte
“It’s just that different people have strong personalities and when strong personalities are in the same room, you gonna talk and it’s not always going to be quiet and it’s productive and it’s good and it’s refreshing and it’s different. And it has gotten to the point where whereby we go out there the people know we are coming with not just one person in the party but there are several people in the U.D.P. who will stand up and who will fight so I think it has turned out fine.”
Janelle Chanona
“I know you are campaigning on Mike Peyrefitte: Open, Direct, Honest. But there has been a successful campaign to market you as “Mr. Ram it”, how do you respond to that?”
Michael Peyrefitte
“I love it, I love the campaign. I think, the commercials that the P.U.P. make for me, I couldn’t have created myself. They portray me, I believe and people tell me, as a person who is no nonsense. If I have something to say, I will say it. And I don’t ever apologize for saying, “ram it” or “pull the plug” or whatever they want to throw on me. That’s the type of person I am.”
Since the recent redistricting, Freetown is the only city constituency to extend past the city limits, jumping the Haulover Bridge to include parts of Vista del Mar. But both candidates agree the needs of the more than thirty-six hundred voters are similar.
Michael Peyrefitte
“The priority for Freetown, everybody tells you from Kings Park area, from Belama phase one to where we’re standing now, the number one problem is street and drainage. It’s the number one priority, the number one priority is to clean the place, the number one priority is to have our streets not made out of gold at least but brought to a certain standard that it’s livable for people.”
Francis Fonseca
“We’ve spent a lot of time trying to work as well with the infrastructure of the division, regrettably, we haven’t had the cooperation of the city council over the last two years so that has made it much more difficult, even though I’ve tried to reach out to them. So infrastructure remains a big issue, a big concern to the residents of Freetown.”
As the incumbent, Fonseca says his proudest accomplishment has been the Freetown Education and Opportunity Centre.
Francis Fonseca
“It was the number one commitment I made when I was campaigning because the young people and the families in Freetown were saying to me, listen we need somewhere for our children to go where they can access computers, access books, have an opportunity to get tutoring, have an opportunity to recreate positively and we did that within eight months of being elected.”
“I guess the only regret is that it’s very difficult to balance your responsibilities as an area representative and a Minister of Government. So the regret is that I did not have enough time to spend dialoging with the people of Freetown, on the street, in their homes because of my responsibilities over the last five years as a minister of Government.”
But as challenger, Peyrefitte questions why Fonseca as Minister of Education, never established primary and high schools for the residents of Belama. But the U.D.P.’s biggest peeve is Belama phase four. Established by squatters, many in the community only speak Spanish, there is no legal electricity connections, no running water and plenty of swamp.
Michael Peyrefitte
“I mean this first of all is absolute disaster. This is an area because the area representative totally neglected the area, failed to realize that there was an entire unofficial community that was developing in the Belama area. People just started to build uncontrollably and now, last minute just before the election, what he is trying to do is nationalise these people who live here, which they’ve done about twenty-five of them and at the same time with the advent of the Bill Lindo constructions, trying to make it appear as if though it is a normal community.”
Francis Fonseca
“Well I think if you go to Belama Phase Four, I think just about every house has a P.U.P. sign on it in Belama Phase Four so if he’s counting on Belama phase four then he’s in worse shape than I thought. Belama Phase Four obviously has been a challenging area. But I’m very glad that over the last year in particular it has all come together so that many of the residents, not all of them yet, have gotten their land because we only give land to those who become Belizean citizens, until they complete that process we are not able to provide them with land. But we’ve done many, many families and many are behind me right today supporting us so I feel very good about Belama Phase Four. But there’s still a long way to go and they understand with my representation, we’ll get it done.”
And in the final, hectic days of the campaign, both men are putting trust in the voter.
Mike Peyrefitte
“It’s important that we approach Thursday with every bit of urgency and that’s your voice, you have a voice next week Thursday, let it be heard.”
Francis Fonseca
“I always say there’s a lot more P.U.P.s than U.D.P.s in Freetown, but we just have to make sure they come out and vote.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Janelle Chanona.
