They raised a storm as backbenchers and while they may have gone from the backbench to the frontbench, Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde continue to push a reform agenda within the PUP, even if they do so less confrontationally. But today, Espat pushed the envelope across the blue barrier just a little and inched maybe less than a step away from open confrontation with the old guard of his party. Espat delivered the explosive remarks at the BTIA's annual general meeting.
The BTIA called in their old tourism minister to discuss his new portfolio, National Development and to tell them how tourism fits into that picture. Well he gave them that and whole lot more in a speech that played to populist sentiment and gave Espat a platform to start what he calls a development debate, starting with a 25 year plan.
Hon. Mark Espat, Minister of National Development
"Why is our country so rich but so many of our people so poor. Why Belize so wealthy but - the people, abundant land, the reserves, the reef, the rivers, the wildlife, now the oil but so many people poor. This year we will commemorate 25 years of independence. We must ask ourselves how we have performed as a nation in those 25 years.
Yes there is much to be satisfied about in the last 25 years. Belize has fallen to 91 out of 175 countries on the UN's Human Development Index; 1 in 3 citizens are below the poverty line. 1400 hundred inmates occupy the national prison. 24% of our people are functionally illiterate while more than 50% of our children do not complete primary school. Our national debt stands at BZ$2 billion or $7,000 for every child, woman, and man. 80% of our agricultural land is owned by 3% of landowners. 2-year-old Kimorah Leslie died this week because of shunt and a lacking national health insurance. There is a 2.4% prevalence rate for HIV/Aids. Our roads don't have a dividing line. Our Met Service does not have a weather radar. Our mentally ill patients do not have a proper hospital. The reasons for dissatisfaction could continue. So what are we to do?
I am dissatisfied and you should be too. And before you hear that I am speaking against my party, I am not. I am speaking for Belize. We have got to break ourselves free of those red and blue chains that blur our eyes, muffle our lips, and retard our development. Belize cannot afford the cycle of three year and five year development plans. We need to think long term. Let us think about where we want to be 25 years from now, so that these next 25 years are more about productive.
This process of planning and management must be backed up by an empowered people and a more robust democracy. Planning and productivity cannot prosper where there is unstable and weak government. This leads me to the heart of my discussion with you: how do we strengthen our democracy to ensure higher standards in government? Thee are ten key recommendations I wish to share with you today, not as final products but to fuel debate and to encourage urgent discussion.
The House of Representatives should immediately consider and approve laws governing all donations to and financing for political parties with a view to limiting the overall amount spent and the amount each individual or company can legally contributor.
Government should ensure that a percentage of the shares in all oil companies extracting oil from Belize, starting with BNE, is offered to the Belizean public in small blocks, that GOB gets at least 70% gross oil receipts from easily accessible wells. This is non-renewable resource, the proceeds of which should benefit future generations of Belizeans. 50-50 sounds good but not good enough. Of 46 oil producing countries listed in a recent report for the GOB, only 5% collect 50% or less, mainly because of the locations of the wells. This is the most important development since 1981. Imagine, if 3 wells have 18 million barrels, US$70 a barrel, that's BZ$2.4 million over 15 years. This is 10 times bigger than all privatizations combined.
Violation of the Finance and Audit Reform Act, which governs how we manage Belize monies and her assets should carry criminal penalties. Burdening the Belizean taxpayer with unauthorized debt or transferring public assets outside the law should attract the same punishment as the ordinary citizen who commits theft or burglary or mishandles company assets.
Our Social Security contributes are sacrosanct and thus require far better and more prudent management. Therefore the SSB Act should be amended to stipulate, among other new provisions, that 75% of SSB funds should be held in cash and cash equivalents instruments, that no more than 10% of annual collections should be spent on administration, that equal representation on the Board of Directors be offered to private sector and labor, and that violations to this Act also covers criminal penalties. SSB funds should be outside the reach of any national government.
We are a rich and a resourceful country, we cannot wait for a third 25 years to draw wisdom from hindsight. Our national standing is retrievable, if we ensure that a beggar's child not condemned to be a beggar, the broader the horizon of that beggar's child, the broader our national horizon will be."
But it's not all for the standing ovation; in a telephone interview later on, Espat told us that he and colleague minister Cordel Hyde will take their reform proposals to Cabinet, and if necessary lay them on the table at the House of Representatives. Also included in the list of 10 proposals unveiled today is one for direct election of the senate and a three term limit for area representatives.
