If you've been to the Vital Statistics Unit looking to register your newborn child, trying to get a copy of your birth certificate replaced, or handing in a death certificate for a recently deceased loved on, you'll know about the pain that comes with having to interact with that department.
It is notoriously the most painfully slow office of public servants, and persons often complain of poor customer service. And while Vital Stats is an example of how slow Government works, the PUP says that a number of their constituents have been complaining to them about months of undue delays. Persons in rural parts of the country are complaining that they are being given the run-around whenever they check at Vital Stats about their documents, which is expensive, since these persons have to travel far in public transportation.
That's why a group of Opposition standard bearers, area representatives and other politicians staged a half-hour protest in front of the Belize City office for the Vital Statistics.
We got a chance to speak with Julius Espat, the Cayo South Area Representative about this demonstration, and he explained why the party is making this stance right now:
Hon. Julius Espat - Area Rep., Cayo South
"We've been having serious problems, some more than others. The guys from the south have been having much more than us, and I believe it's because of the distance, and because the Toledo District is a rural district. And when people register their newborns, it's not done in the way that we in the urban areas would do it. And so, we have thousands and thousands of people who are pending their birth papers. I have about maybe over 200. Those guys have some times up to the thousands, and it's for minor stuff. It's people who are born Belizeans, and one way or the other, they can't get their information. And the regular person, to get their birth certificate, it takes a long time. They have to come to the city. They're impoverished people, and so the system, as your are aware, is flawed all over. And this is one example of how we have systems in place that are not designed to suit the impoverished people of our country. Anybody who has access to a certain amount of money, or access to an attorney, or to people who understand the system, they seem to get away pretty fine, or if you're affiliated with the political party that it is in government. But, I believe the systems should be designed for the people who don't have those resources."
"And why it important? Well, we're going to an ICJ referendum in April, and supposedly, we want all Belizeans to participate. But, the problem with going to the referendum is that people have lost trust in the systems that govern us."
"It is the start of the People's United Party's movement to show that we care, and Belizeans should be aware of the situation that's happening. Sadly, we Belizeans only move when it happens to us personally."
Reporter
"An easy explanation for the delay may be that Vital Stats has to service the entire population, and there are a finite amount of public servants able to do that."
Hon. Julius Espat
"I don't care. They set a date. They had a time frame, and if they can't do it, it means that we are not prepared. And if we're not prepared at Vital Stats, what will happen when Election Day comes referendum, and you can't - they don't know who will be scrutineers, or who can be scrutineers. They don't know how the system will work because a true referendum has never happened."
Reporter
"Why now for this agitation, and why not months or weeks before?"
Hon. Julius Espat
"Well, because we've experiencing, and we've been giving Government a time. Area representatives have sat with the Attorney General. They've sat with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The party leader - I believe - have spoken to the leader of the country."
"And they don't care. They do absolutely nothing. They have what I call lip service."
We'll have bit more from Espat later in the news, in which he discusses the latest road works contract that the Ministry of Works has signed for a part of the George Price Highway that runs through his division.
