Former Prime Minister recollects lessons from Price

George Price

The nation will watch as the body of the Father of the Nation is paraded through the streets of the city that he forged into the country we love. The mystique of Price lives on; while he was the most known public figure, his private life was closely guarded. There were so many experiences that have been documented, but the man who succeeded him as the Leader of the P.U.P. and former prime minister, Said Musa spoke to News Five about the lessons that every young person should learn from Price.

Said Musa, Former Prime Minister

Said Musa

“He was also a very complicated man, a well read man of deep intelligence. And I speak of his originality because; yes he was a man of few words in many respects. I always said an economy of words, clarity of thought and language. In other words, every word he used, there was a deep meaning behind it and that is what distinguishes a great intellect. So you need to contrast this simple lifestyle with the intellect of the man. He had that blue Land Rover throughout his life as a premier and a prime minister. You might ask why a Land Rover, well for obvious reasons because he had to traverse very difficult terrain. Mister Price was a pioneer—he was opening up roads himself, physically. That’s an interesting thought that you are bringing up here because this man was a leader by example. He led by example. He didn’t lecture people. He would show them this is the way you should do it and he himself would do it so we had to follow his example and that Land Rover traversed this country almost on a daily basis. Another interesting thing about it is that he would stop for everybody on the roadside if he could give them a lift. And people remember that. They also remember that here is this leader of a country walking from home to work and picking up litter as he went along. He had a thing about cleanliness and the environment and those are the things you must remember as part of the legacy of George Price. Not just the fact that he is the father of the nation—although that is the greatest fact that we have to honor—but also the little things that he kept reminding us about by his example. The image that will stand out is whenever you look at a photograph of George Price with intensity, you see the penetrating eyes—the charisma is obvious. When Mister Price walks into a room, it lights up; he radiates. What I would want our young people to know and remember is one of the things he said. One of the things he said was that knowledge is not the only thing that drives us to action. It is the desire, the will to serve. He always emphasized service, helping his fellow human beings. That to me is the model, if you like; that I believe young Belizeans should always strive for—and indeed party members and leaders in the party–service to the people. That was Mister Price’s strongest message, as far as I am concerned and I can tell you I considered him not only a friend and my leader; or leader emeritus, but indeed my mentor. I studied at his feet. And those are the things that I would want to believe I tried my best in life when I was there as well to try and emulate.”

Jose Sanchez

“Will there or can there be another George Price?”

Said Musa

“Never. Never. There can never be another George Price. I started out by telling you this was an original, a unique person that not only Belizeans recognized but I think the world.”