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DATES FOR CONSULTATIONS ON NINTH AMENDMENT SET

The office of the Clerk of the National Assembly today released the full schedule of consultation on the proposed Belize Constitution Ninth Amendment Bill. According to the schedule, the consultations will travel to each of the district towns and the nation's capital. Of note are two stops on the nationwide tour, one in Independence Village on September twenty eight and the other in Maskall village on October nineteenth. The next public consultation will take place on Wednesday of next week at the Civic Centre in Corozal town. The following week, the consultation moves to Orange Walk where it will be held at the Sports Complex. Dangriga will host the consultation on September Seventh; followed by San Pedro Town on September fourteenth. When the consultations resume after the Independence Day holiday, it will go to Independence on the twenty eight of September; followed by Punta Gorda on October fifth. Cay residents will get to voice their opinion on the Bill when the consultation goes west n October twelfth at the ITVETT Building. As we said, the consultation moves to Maskall village community Centre on October nineteenth before wrapping up in the nation's capital at the UB auditorium on November second. According to the official communiqué from the Clerk's office, the Bill seeks to provide that the government shall at all times have majority ownership and control of public utilities, to clarify the provisions relating to the amendment of the constitution and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

LOVEFM

Churches Change Position: They Support The Ninth Amendment

The Churches now fully support the ninth amendment to the constitution. That's the announcement coming out of government today after meetings held Friday and today with the Prime Minister and government members of the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee. It's a coup for government but it comes at a cost; the Prime Minister has agreed to excise significant controversial sections of the proposed amendment.

The changes will see the removal of what are known as the ouster clauses; that is the specific language barring court enquiry into the validity of any law passed to alter the Constitution.

To be specific, whereas the proposed amendment to section 69 (9) had said, quote:

"a law passed by the National Assembly to alter any of the provisions of this Constitution which is passed in conformity with this section shall not be open to challenge in any court of law on any ground whatsoever."

That last section has now been completely deleted.

Now, in section 145 - 1, which speaks about the acqusition of BEL and BTL and that their acquisitions were, quote

"duly carried out for a public purpose in accordance with the laws authorising the acquisition of such property, and no court shall enquire into the constitutionality, legality or validity of the said acquisitions"

Well, that part about "no court enquiring" has been taken out. And then to section 145 -2 which speaks about, quote,

"no court shall assume jurisdiction on any ground whatsoever….or any ground alleging breach of the rules of natural justice.

Well that has been completely taken out. A release from the Council of Churches this evening said that quote: "As a result of the changes agreed to, both Church Organizations hereby give their full support to the Belize Constitution (9th Amendment) Bill." A release form government says that quote: "Both Church bodies were satisfied that the primary objective of the Ninth Amendment is to…make unassailable Government's ownership of the essential utility services…and both bodies were also satisfied that this objective is entirely in the national interest and a fundamental and proper expression of Belizean sovereignty," end quote. It adds that Government assured the church leaders that the Bill in its new form "would still guarantee the impregnability of the utilities' nationalization."

But there is one difference of opinion. The churches say that "It was agreed that these changes will become effective immediately; and the Bill now in circulation will reflect the changes, and that throughout the remainder of the consultation period this amended version of the Bill will be the basis for further discussion."

Well, according to the Prime Minister he can't do that. The PM today told us that indeed he has given his undertaking that all the changes will be made but he says he can only make the changes when it goes back to the house and to do otherwise would be improper. He says though, that going forward, the changes will be announced at the start f every consultation so that those ouster clauses need not be debated - as they are considered excised.

Channel 7

CHURCHES SUPPORT PROPOSED NINTH AMENDMENT PENDING CHANGES

Government says following meetings it has secured the full support of the Evangelical Association of Churches and the Belize Council of Churches for the ninth amendment bill. According to a release from Government the decision of the churches came after frank discussions in which Government clarified the bill's intention and agreed to certain changes in order to allay publicly expressed fears and misconceptions. The change will see the removal of the specific language barring court enquiry into the validity of any law passed to alter the constitution before the bill is brought back for passage through Parliament. The Church leaders were convinced that the agreed trimming of the language in sections 69 subsection nine, 145 sub section one and two of the bill should put an end to any public dispute over the bill's purpose and effect. The official public consultations on the bill are still ongoing.

LOVEFM

9th Amendment to be amended

The Prime Minister announced today that it is removing specific language on the proposed ninth amendment but is it still dangerous for Belize's democracy? On July twenty-second, Prime Minister Dean Barrow's government introduced a controversial ninth amendment to the Belize Constitution in the House of Representatives that unleashed fiery public debate. The bill has come under sustained and heavy attack from the Bar Association, the Chamber of Commerce, Belizeans for Justice and the Belize Council of Churches.

Professors from the University of the West Indies and even the influential Jamaica Gleaner have warned about the dangers for Belize's democracy if the ninth amendment is passed. Just last Tuesday, the Caribbean Court of Justice expressed the view that the ninth amendment would be unconstitutional if it tried to shut out the courts. The intense local and even international criticism of the bill has finally caused the government to soften its position… at least a little. This afternoon, the government issued a press release that, following meetings with the Churches, it was going to "trim" parts of the ninth amendment. The release was, however, silent on any specifics of what would be trimmed. The Churches then issued their own press release providing details of what looks more like major cuts in the ninth, not just mere trimming. Those offensive words that spoke about shutting out the court's ability to examine whether legislation was unconstitutional are being removed. But it still leaves the government with the basic power to amend anything in the constitution once it has the three-quarters majority without anyone being able to go to court and have the court decide the matter. We have obtained the preliminary views of members of the Bar Association who say that while some of the poison has been removed from the ninth amendment, what remains is still a potent danger to our democratic way of life. We'll have a closer look on the modifications in Tuesday's newscast.

Channel 5