But that was only good for today, tomorrow it will be very different in Belmopan when both major political parties and the unions will all converge on Belmopan for the budget debate. The stage is set for at least a dramatic showdown as the PUP alone are reported to be bringing 60 buses. The Police Department is preparing a massive deployment to contain the protest and the support. Today we spoke to the UDP leader and the Deputy Prime Minister about the prospect of contention with rival groups in such close quarters.
Dean Barrow, Opposition Leader
"There is without a doubt a new sense of the activism on the part of the people of this country. To my mind that is enough. The culmination will come tomorrow in what I believe will be a massive show of force on the part of the people. That, for now, is going to be enough. There is absolutely no need for any kind of violence. The Prime Minister has suggested that we are advocating violence. The fact is that he is the head of the party in power, he is the head of the current administration, and he needs to be able to accept the protest of the people without doing anything, either at a party level or at a government, that is designed to be provocative otherwise he is the one that will have the blame. He is the one that will have to accept the responsibility for whatever happens. It is silly, it is misguided, it is immature, and it is downright dangerous for him to be issuing, as it was, some call to arms for his People's United Party supporters. They are the ones against whom the people's protests are directed. They must sit there, take the medicine, and handle it maturely."
Johnny Briceno, Deputy Prime Minister
"Both sides have supporters; the Opposition, the unions, and other concerned citizens. They want to go and present and show their views for or against the government. Some of them want to go to say that they are not happy, they are not satisfied, and I respect that. But at the same time we also have thousands of supporters across this country that want to go and show their support. We need to be able to respect one another. If people want to go out and support the Opposition, I respect that; it is their right but let's do it in a peaceful way. Let's do it the Belizean way. We can respect one another and at the end of the day Belize is home for all of us, we have nowhere to go."
"There are some people that are expressing their dissatisfaction and I will accept that. But that does not mean that they have lost all confidence in the government. The country is made of 280,000 people and I think in many instances in Belize City people see government, or see what is happening, through the eyes of Belize City. But it is more than Belize City it is the entire country. And yes there are pockets of dissatisfaction and I accept that. But if you look at what has happened, the tremendous amount of developments and opportunities that have been created over the past six years by this government, I don't we should overlook that."
Keith Swift,
Mr. Deputy Prime Minister you keep saying there has been all this development but out here people don't seem to agree with you. Do you think people still believe you when you are saying that we are growing and we are living in a good country?
Johnny Briceno,
"Its there for you to see. Its not a matter of whether you believe or not, its there. Wherever you go (you can see) the development that has taken place, even in this city. I will admit that in hindsight we can look back and say that we should have done this or we could have done things differently in some instances."
Keith Swift,
Minister you said in hindsight but just in December the Social Security Board again paid $1.8 million from the public purse to cover Intelco's obligations.
Johnny Briceno,
"It is not a matter of paying or not paying. It is a matter that it was a commitment that was done and that it had to be done. What we have to do as a government is to ensure how we are going to get back that money. I think the government has given a commitment that we will make sure that Social Security at no time loses any money that rightfully belongs to us, to all Belizeans."
Keith Swift,
Can you understand people's frustrations though? The SSB scandal broke back in June and in December SSB monies were still being used to pay a private loan.
Johnny Briceno,
"I think that you are missing the point. What has happened with Social Security is that they have already made a commitment; they were the ones that were the guarantors. I am not in any way suggesting that that was the right move, I think I manifested my concern over that in August and I still maintain that, but the Social Security has made a commitment to an international body through the securitization. They are the ones who made the guarantee so they will have to pay. What we have to do as a government is find ways to ensure that we dispose of the assets from Intelco to make sure that Social Security gets back its money."
Keith Swift,
Are these increased taxes a done deal whether Belizeans like it or not?
Johnny Briceno,
"Its not a matter of liking it or not liking it Keith, it is a matter of having a responsibility. The government has a responsibility to this country that we need to continue the development of this country. We could have taken the easy way out: we could have retrenched people, and we could said we weren't going to do any projects, and cut down on education and health so that we can have this cold look at balancing the budget. But for us it's more than that, its involves thousands of Belizeans that depend on us so we are appealing to everyone to work with us."
While we all get ready for tomorrow's showdown in the capital, the Belmopan City Council has issued a release urging restraint and calm. It says that the garden city is the bedrock of law and order, and urges visitors to protest in a peaceful and civil manner. To help this along, the city will be providing portable toilets and bowsers with drinking waters will be widely deployed.
