Back in October we told you that GOB had introduced a Bill to amend the Referendum Act, making it mandatory that a referendum must be held prior to any proposed amendment or repeal of the Petroleum Operations Moratorium Act of 2017.
So, while OCEANA's 22,000 signatures may not have gotten them the referendum they wanted, Their vice president Janelle Channona told us today that she is pleased with the outcome and route GOB has decided to take in reaching a compromise.
Janelle Chanona, OCEANA, Vice President
"I think yes it was important that November 11 is the day that the gazette was published and the law is the law and everybody is notified. Accordingly, we were proud to commend the Briceno administration for this work, and I think we jointly commend the people of Belize for their commitment to this issue you are in the media, perhaps no better than most how easy it is for issues to fall off the stove and this one has been there since 2011. I don't think that we are at this point where there is a guaranteed referendum and I fully acknowledge that not everybody is happy, and some of them have come out very plainly and say I wanted to vote right now and we hear them but most importantly, I think it's still under score that there will be a vote if any administration in the future wants to look at lifting the moratorium to do any of these activities that you will know about it and have an opportunity to participate in that decision before any of that happened and I think that's really a testament to the sensational, people and power that this issue has had with Belizeans, and again it's exemplary, and trailblazing a Belizean to always set precedent to terms or having that people power there and feeling their presence throughout so really more than anything we thank the Belizeans for doing that the 22,090 who's other the petition and everybody else who has supported this movement for so very long."
