REPORT #430 September 2001
PRIME MINISTER MUSA AND THE PUP VERSION OF DEVELOPMENT


Produced by the Belize Development Trust

Doesn't matter what you call them, autocrats, despots, generals, dictators, parliamentry Prime Minister's, autocratic presidents of mafia parties in capital cities. The difference between them and what is real development is in how political power is distributed. Esquivel, the past Prime Minister, was a no bones declared strong man autocrat in a centralized system, in which all strings and development led back to his fingers.

Current Prime Minister Musa, despite all his rhetoric before he got elected and since then, has shown himself to be the same chip off the block. No difference between him and Esquivel. Two parties, same autocratic strong man deal.

In the papers recently, you read about Prime Minister Musa being asked about political reform and changing the constitution by various concerned civic groups within their home port town. The local major newspaper editors clamor for a change of the failed parliamentry system. But the stock answers from Prime Minister Musa, a strong man, strong party centralized autocratic system is the same.

"Political Reform and Constitutional Reform take time", he says! Now there is a bunch of hogwash and smoke and mirrors. Pure Prime Ministerial balarny, for saying " we will not change the system, we intend to do nothing." Anybody who believes that Prime Ministerial bombast crapola, needs their head examined.

For example; I alone, within the time the PUP have in this elected term in office, could go over the current Belize Constitution, delete all those sections in that time period that need to be deleted and write all the new constitutional laws and changes according to some of those priorities outlined in our many years of printing Development Issue Reports and get it all ready to be passed by that RUBBER STAMP PUP legislature, before the next election. It would take far less time than building the Chalillo Dam. Maybe take six months! But you wouldn't have to wait that long. Lots of new constitutional changes, such as Senators, Policing, electoral systems could be changed NOW, within weeks, or at most a couple of months. To be phased in gradually. Things like TERM LIMITS, a new way of getting a ceremonial Prime Minister elected each year and that sort of thing, could be phased in gradually within the time frame the PUP have left for this term. The majority of the changes could certainly be written and passed by the legislature before the next election time. Which in turn would change the whole political performing status quo of the existing failed parliamentry system and how any new administration would be run and take effect, after the next election.

When the Prime Minister of the PUP political party now in office, says these things take time. He is talking pure nonsense, postponing the inevitable, not willing to distribute political power and expediting true development.

What these two political parties in Belize want, is the current system, in which development occurs; but on THEIR TERMS. Not the terms of the local people in a geographic area. This is not about development occuring home grown, from grass roots; but rather for a select few, the party in power being able to say ; " see what WE did for you?" It is not about establishing budgeting and financial systems that "enable people to do for themselves." This is a struggle about POWER and EGO and GREED!

THIS IS A STRUGGLE BETWEEN CENTRISTS AND FEDERALISTS. BETWEEN SUCCESSFUL DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS AND FAILED PSEUDO COLONIAL MONARCHIST DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS.

So far, the CENTRISTS like Esquivel and Musa are saying the same story! Except Esquivel was honest about it and Musa is the more polished dishonest politician, covering his opposition to consensual democracy with honeyed words.

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