John Saldivar talks to News Five about 9th Amendment

On Thursday night we showed you how the national consultations on the proposed ninth amendment concluded in the capital city of Belmopan. The views on the road show are mixed and mostly divided along political lines, but on Thursday we spoke with Minister John Saldivar, who says he is satisfied with the outcome because it presented the perspective of the grassroots Belizeans. Saldivar even went further to say that the response received at the consultations, signals a positive outlook for the U.D.P. in the two upcoming elections.

John Saldivar, Minister of Public Service, Governance Improvement, Elections & Boundaries and Sports

“I think it has been a very good process; there are those who de-cry the politicization of the process. I personally believe that what the consultations did was give a chance to the grass roots people rather than just the pseudo-intellectuals and intellectuals to talk about this. This was an opportunity for grassroots people to voice their opinions and although people may quarrel with the brevity of their interventions, it’s very necessary to hear from our grassroots people and so I am convinced that after listening and being at these hearings, the grassroots people understand what this amendment is all about and notwithstanding all this intellectual talk, we’re moving ahead with the ninth amendment.”

Andrea Polanco

John Saldivar

“So Minister last night it was in you’d say your constituency right there in Belmopan, what’s the feeling like for you personally after hearing the views of the people of your constituency?”

John Saldivar

“I am very elated, very happy with the turn out, very happy with those who were brave enough to get on the mic and voice their opinions. You know Belmopan is a public service city and public officers generally like to stay out of the fray when it comes to these discussions, notwithstanding that many of them may not have showed up, we had quite a bit of showing yesterday. We had quite a bit of showing from Cayo South, the villages of Cayo South. For the critics we also had a good turn out from Las Flores, Salva Pan, San Martin and Maya Mopan. So it all makes me feel happy of our chances coming into the city council election next year and then following up with the general elections, suh I have no problems with the turn out and I’m very happy about it.”