Yesterday in Belmopan for the official ceremonies - the Prime Minister held forth as head of Government - who seemed to be in the mood for an election.
The event was official, but the tone was political.
Jules Vasquez tells us why:
Jules Vasquez Reporting
While the head of State, Sir Colville Young, handled the formalities, Prime Minister Barrow strode into the event with the confident gait of a prizefighter, appearing event buoyant because he knew his Independence Day address would be a political home run.
And he knew that because the opposing pitcher - opposition leader John Briceno - had offered to deliver a non-political address - in the spirit of national unity after George Price's passing. He did so, stripping himself of his only weapon - deferring to an austere symbolism, deferring almost completely to a quote from George Price's 1981 address...
Hon. John Briceno - Leader of the Opposition
"On that historic day, 30 years ago, right in our nation's capital, Belmopan, our first Prime Minister, the Hon. George Price said, and I quote, 'Belize is a a Caribbean and Central American Nation, which works and lives in a revolution that is peaceful, constructive, new, progressive, and Belizean. This was the legacy he left us, the vision of a new and prosperous nation. Therefore, arise ye sons and daughters of Belize, and let us do right by George Price, to continue the work of building our beloved Belize. God bless us all, and God bless Belize. Long Live Belize."
Prime Minister Barrow picked up where Briceno left off - by first giving in to popular acclaim:
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"I begin by acknowledging the pall casted by the death of Belize's 1st national hero, the Rt. Hon. George Price. And I want to announce right away, that in his honor, next Monday, the day of the state funeral, is being declared a national holiday."
After that rousing start Barrow rolled unto a speech loaded with sugar plums:
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"There are more than 9,200 historical loans currently on the books at the Ministry of Housing. The weight of these is taxing the loan recipients to perdition; but no more. Government has decided that it will write off each and every single one of those loans at a total cost of around 62.6 million dollars."
And for those who worry about the effect of such a write-off - Barrow threw orthodoxy to the wind:
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"I repeat that we want to construct a Belize that is based on distributive social justice. Those of our citizens that are disadvantaged, whether by poverty, illness or some disability, are entitled to have that disadvantage remedied by the state. And the state must find the will and the resources to pay for the redress that is required. So fiscal balance can only be a work in progress, a long-haul process, and if deficits in the short run are the price to pay for social stability, and Government's pro-poor program, then deficits there will be."
And after that major declaration of a pro poor fiscal position - PM Barrow outlined other initiatives:
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"I am pleased to announce that the funding to set up our long awaited DNA lab has now been secured. To complete this forensic picture, a new, fully outfitted, top-of-the-line Scenes of Crime vehicle will be in country next month. It will have the refrigeration capacity, the kits and all the other tools to do onsite preliminary specimen analysis. Welcome to CSI Belize!"
And turning from crime to what may become the enduring legacy of his administration, nationalization:
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"Nationalization is the best thing that could ever have happened. Exploitation is ended and Belizean pride and Belizean protection are resurgent."
In that vein, PM Barrow announced bold initiatives from those government-controlled utilities:
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"Telemedia will, on October 1st, give both greater Internet access and a lower price to Belizeans. Currently the minimum amount of bandwidth that can be purchased is 256 kilobits per second for 100 dollars per month, plus GST. Now, though, the company will offer 128 kilobits per second at the rock bottom cost of just $49.00 per month. But there is more. As a special 30th anniversary gift, government will remove the GST on internet services. We will thus forgo 2 million dollars in annual revenue. On Thursday last the new, Government- controlled Board of Directors officially renounced the Fortis demand for our people to pay higher electricity rates. We were told, prior to the sovereign acquisition, that Fortis required an immediate rate increase in order to avoid the certain collapse of BEL. But Belizeans have now taken over, and there is no way to sugarcoat what we found. Fortis was consistently inflating BEL's asset base and engaging in wasteful capital spending. Of course, those sharp practices have also been stopped by the new, Belizean-owned BEL. And that is why there will be no hike in your electricity bills, not now, not ever - under this administration. In fact, barring any emergencies, we actually expect to lower rates at the time of the next full tariff review. That is correct: light bills are going to go down!"
And after that broad boast, the PM made it clear that investors are welcomed but should be forewarned:
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"This government and this country will continue to welcome, and indeed, to court foreign investment. Of course, it can never be at the price of Belizean dignity. Whether, therefore, it is in the area of telecommunications, electricity or butane gas; and whether the investor is from Britain, Canada, or Central America, the requirements of fair-play, equity and conscience must apply."
The Prime Minister's speech was forty minutes long, while the leader of the opposition's was eight minutes long.
