While Leader of the Opposition says government is reeling with scandals

For the Leader of the Opposition, Francis Fonseca, the government is reeling from one scandal to the other. Fonseca also called for less confrontation and more dialogue, less arrogance and more humility and less personal politics and more problem solving. But one of the opposition’s biggest beef was the issue of the Public Accounts Committee, which began meetings today without the opposition. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

Leader of the Opposition, Francis Fonseca, in addressing the gathering during the official Independence Day ceremony in Belmopan on Saturday, took the opportunity to draw attention to recent scandals surrounding government.  On the heels of a major passport fiasco involving the issuance of Belizean travel documents to an imprisoned South Korean national in Taiwan, which surfaced last week, Fonseca took the Barrow administration to task for the misstep.

Francis Fonseca, Opposition Leader

Francis Fonseca

“I could have come here this morning my fellow Belizeans as I am sure some expected and wanted me to attack the U.D.P. government to talk about the Rosewood scandal, the Noh Mul scandal, the K.H.M.H. scandal, the San Estevan road scandal, the ongoing land’s ministry scandal, the Social Investment Fund scandal, the Immigration scandal and on and on. Indeed that would have been easy and convenient, but thirty-two years after independence—seventeen years of P.U.P. and fifteen years of U.D.P.—our responsibility is far, far greater than scandal talk. Working together in good faith across party political lines, we must review the systems we have in place to govern and develop Belize. And where there is need for change, improvement and strengthening, let us get it done. On this the thirty-second anniversary of Belize’s independence, let us embrace the politics of change and commit to a new era of governance.”

Fonseca also reflected on the state of the nation post independence, thirty-two years later with individual and collective accomplishments.

Francis Fonseca

“Thirty-two years after independence, Belize remains a paragon of ethnic coexistence having avoided as a people the treacherous slopes of ethnic conflict. There are good reasons therefore to pay tribute to Belize and its people. This year once again, we were inspired by young Rowan Garel, a blind teenager, who dove deep into the majestic Blue Hole to raise awareness and funds on behalf of the Belize Council for the Visually Impaired. And we were all moved by the outpouring of support for Belize’s national football team, the Jaguars, as they participated in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July of this year. In the last thirty-two years, Belize has claimed its rightful place in the world community as a proud democratic sovereign nation.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.

Also addressing the ceremonies was special guest, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica.