The opposition People's United Party was absent from parliament on Monday when legislation was pushed through to nationalize BEL. But today, the leader of the PUP John Briceño expressed disapproval of the government's takeover. In an interview at his Belize City office, Briceño says several questions now arises, chief among them is how will the nation benefit from the expropriation.
John Briceno - Opposition Leader
"Will the Prime Minister ensure the Belizean public that the employees at BEL will be protected from victimization? How is this going to affect the employment situation in Belize? Presently we have over 24% almost one out of every 4 Belizeans are out of a job, over 30,000 Belizeans are out of a job; about 5,000 students are graduating from fourth form, sixth form and UB, will this move allow them to be able to get a job? Will this create investor confidence? These are some of the questions that are on the mind of the Belizean people. We as a party and most Belizeans do not have confidence in this government."
Patrick Jones - Reporter
If the PUP had an alternative what would that alternative be to the whole situation of getting BEL out of this mess that it is in?
John Briceno - Opposition Leader
"Well certainly we would not have been operating in this confrontational manner that the government operates, that the Prime Minister seems to relish; for everything it is a fight for him. Look at his record. This problem with some people on Chetumal Street, what did he do? He sends the Police and BDF to break down their homes in the middle of the night, or four o'clock in the morning, he has some problem with bus operators, what does he do, he creates a crisis that the transportation system was shut down for half a day; there is a problem with football, he then strong arms it. It is like he wants to grab everybody and bend them to his, to submit to his will as opposed to sit down like rational people and negotiate. So I could assure that if we were in Government we would have found a solution by sitting down and negotiating a way forward."
And since the PUP disapproves of the BEL take over, Love News asked Briceño what would have been his suggestion for an alternative solution.
John Briceno - Opposition Leader
I think what is more important is that we were going to ensure that Belizeans continue to get an efficient service, a service that we don't have blackouts. Remember when BEL was owned by Government we used to have a lot of blackouts and rates going up and down; the whole issue of mismanagement that was with BEL when in many instances we had to use our tax dollars to keep them operating. What is important is that we have ensured that Belizeans continue to get reliable service which is what the Belizean public is demanding.
Patrick Jones - Reporter
Will the People's United Party then be actively involved in holding the government to its promises to not victimize the workers at BEL and to ensure that there is a steady supply of electricity going forward?
John Briceno - Opposition Leader
"Certainly, that is our job. We have to make sure that we keep the Government accountable every step of the way. Again it is very ironic that this was a Government that was voted on a platform of openness, transparency and accountability and everything we that have seen, these major decisions is done in secret, like they slip it in the darkness of night. Almost two years BTL was acquired in a similar fashion. In this case with BEL the very same thing happened, that on Friday night late at night, when our offices were closed, when our papers were delivered and there was nothing in the papers that gave any indication that there was going to be any discussion or acquisition of Belize Electricity Limited and then here he comes, springs it on Parliament to the National Assembly without any proper consultations or any serious discussions to see what are the repercussions , how is it going to affect Belizeans, how is it going to affect the country, how is it that we can benefit from such. As it is right now the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry has taken out a very strong release condemning the actions of the Government and condemning the whole issue of this managing by crisis that it seems that the government creates a crisis and then steps in and strongarms the situation. If the Prime Minister promised to have a good working relation with the private sector, we were waiting to see how he is going to remedy that situation, how is it that he is going to improve that relationship between government and the private sector because at the end of the day, it is the private sector that runs an economy, it is the private sector that creates jobs and creates wealth in any country.
Patrick Jones- Reporter
Do you join the Chamber in condemning this move to renationalize BEL?
John Briceno - Opposition Leader
"As I mentioned earlier on that the Prime Minister made an argument that there is a crisis that the country could face black outs without giving us enough information he felt that the only way he could address the issue was to nationalize it, our question is how is it that we are going to benefit, how will Belizeans benefit from such action as he did yesterday?"
The PUP says that it's boycott of the sitting of the House of Representatives and Senate on Monday was because of the late notification that there would be a special sitting of parliament, and that there was nothing in the documents suggesting that there would have been a move to take over BEL.
LOVEFM
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