Enriquez also made comparisons of the community development fund allotted to each constituency - which he says is further proof of inequity. He noted that larger constituencies get less money per voter, while the smaller constituencies are provided with more on a per voter basis. He also pointed out that, interestingly, the prime minister's constituency receives the most, at $25,000, whereas other constituencies receive between $10,000 and $20,000.
Enriquez told us more:
Jerry Enriquez, Activist
"So if we look at what was allocated to each of these electoral divisions, we divide up by the size of the electorate, which is the number of registered electors. We get a sense of the inequity of the distribution of these funds. And that speaks to why also, there must be fairness and balance in our, electoral divisions as the Constitution mandates and balance in representation, fair representation, as is the rights of the people. And so the numbers that I have shown are very interesting how the distribution is made. And also I was there was no information as to how these figures were arrived up, which is what I also requested. So you would see areas like even Mesopotamia. If you look at the per capita distribution of community development funds, just as a rough measurement, they would have the highest, the smallest constituency had the highest figure or dollar amount in the per capita distribution, a little over $4. And then the area, like Stan Creek was, which had 11,000 voter, the distribution would be less than $2. Belmopan also, which is a large division, Belize Rural South also. so if we were to level out the per capita distribution, it would be something like about $2.50. But then there is this vast even especially in Belize City where you have these small divisions, they get more money per capita than the larger divisions like Stan Creek, Belmopan, Belize Rural South. So that figure is already revealing, but it is also telling why there should be some kind of more effective distribution of the funds."
"The biggest allocation is orange walk central. That is the highest, that is the area represented by the Prime minister. There's no justification. There's no explanation as to why the Prime Minister with less with a smaller constituency, Stann Creek West or Belmopan or Belize, were also why he will also get the highest allocation for his constituency."
Enriquez says he plans to mount a legal challenge of the lack of disclosure in the Freedom of Information response.
