Finnegan sings, makes shortest speech ever

Another thing not to be taken lightly in any budget debate are the words of Mesopotamia representative Michael Finnegan. Finnegan, who enshrined the mantra “Solomon, Smith and Barney” in Belize’s political vocabulary and whose marathon presentations to the House are legendary, this morning may have made the shortest budget speech of his career: less than ten minutes. But what his statement may have lacked in length was compensated by … well, you be the judge.

Michael Finnegan, Area Rep., Mesopotamia
(Singing) ?There?s a brown girl in a ring, tra la la la la. There?s a brown girl in a ring, tra la la la la. There?s a brown girl in a ring, tra la la la la for she like sugar and I like spice. (Ends) You remember the song? … Well Madam Speaker you have to … Well dah Belize City dah Yabra weh I mi deh we does call ah spice, but you remember the song. Anyhow Madam Speaker, forgive me for my lousy voice because I can?t sing. But I am only using it Madam Speaker to describe the sweet days when the P.U.P. were amassing wealth, this government, and fall?s fortunes and how sour times?now that they find themselves in sour times Madam Speaker and the people are now feeling the pinch for these sour times. The people, the voters, they have said it all on March first. To continue and to stand here for hours over and over, it makes no sense. You know why Madam Speaker? They do not listen. They don?t listen. We have been pointing out their errors and their bad ways to them for over seven years. And we said to them, this will eventually happen, it will happen. If they had stepped back and listen to the Leader of the Opposition and members on this side of the House, Madam Speaker, we?d be a different country, a different economy, and a different people today.?