I was in Dangriga Town before, during the election and after the Municipal Elections that were held throughout our country on March 6, 2024. The People’s United Party won all the municipalities except the twin towns of Santa Elena and San Ignacio.
They won this election because they outspent the United Democratic Party significantly by paying people more money to vote for them. In Dangriga Town some citizens were saying that they received $50.00 for their votes. Other citizens were saying, that they also received money from the United Democratic Party to vote for them but not enough. Reports from other districts indicated that the same thing was happening in their cities and towns.
This is a practice that both political parties have been engaged in during their Party Conventions and Elections in our country. This is despite the fact, that we have Election Laws in place to prohibit this practice which are not being enforced by either party when they are the government in power.
In Dangriga Town and other parts of Belize many of our people are; unemployed, living in poverty, dependent and cannot afford to take care of themselves much less their families. Begging on the streets have become like a full time employment so why would they vote to stay on track while facing these humiliating conditions? Only God knows.
What I witnessed in that Municipal Election of 2024, is painful because they do not even know what is the power of their votes. They have endorsed their living conditions by reelecting a PUP Central Government that has no plans to improve the living conditions of the poor and working class in our country with employment. It is estimated that over 600 million dollars have been approved by the National Assembly since this party came to power in 2020.
If 100 million dollars were earmarked by this government, for a National Employment Project (NEP) to provide jobs, work training skills and job referral programs for our citizens, it would reduce unemployment, poverty and dependency in Belize by half. This government is now in their fourth year and no such proposal has been brought forward to grant our people any relief.
The prices of; food items, gas, fuel and other related items, have skyrocketed and citizens are struggling to survive. Gas price impacts the cost of most items and have caused some citizens to be pushing their vehicles on the streets, because they cannot afford the cost of it.
The PUP Government of Belize will be calling General Elections either this year or next year. They feel confident that they will receive another five-year term, without addressing this serious economic problem our people are facing. Now, the people who are suffering must continue to live with promises that were made in this election to improve their living conditions.
A nation cannot develop to its maximum capacity with many of its citizens living in poverty and dependency. It is the government’s responsibility to provide incentives for their citizens to improve their economic conditions. If not, many of our Belizean citizens will migrate to the United States to seek a better life for themselves. I call on all Belizean citizens to start seeing their votes as their power and not to continue selling their votes to political parties to depower themselves.
If they do not change their mindsets, more suffering will be taking place in our country. The rich are getting richer in Belize and the poor are getting poorer and powerless. What a state of condition to be boasting about “democracy.”
