Opposition Criticizes Government’s Health Insurance Scheme Expansion

Collet’s Area Representative Patrick Faber also rose to criticize the government’s expansion of the National Health Insurance Scheme and stated that given the PUP’s past, the public must keep an eye on the program. In his almost three-hour-long address, Faber stated that he believes the government is using the disbursements of pharmaceuticals under the scheme to enrich cronies. According to Faber, the government is not being transparent in its efforts and has a bad history with such projects.

Patrick Faber, Area Representative: “One of the main platforms in  which the government is claiming it will reform the economy and the country in the fiscal year 2024-2025 is to roll out another leg of NHI. And I want to warn the Belizean people that when they are telling you they will roll out NHI be careful because they are hustlers. And the facts will show this. I know that the member can’t stand the truth, that is why he’s jumping up. If it was my father I would be jumping up too. They took the $20 million dollars, the Prime Minister took the $20 million dollars. He lied to the Belizean people, he told the Belizean people that it was not $20 million US that Venezuela gave. He told the Belizean people it was $20,000 Belize and I will come back with that $20 million again because all of your fancy stories about housing we’ll deal with that in a minute. When the Venezuelan people gave us $40 million dollars for housing your Prime Minister at the time, you leader, your maximum leader stole the money or diverted the money to pay the debt of a private hospital. That is the legacy of the PUP and NHI, so beware Belizeans. Beware when they come and they tell you NHI is being rolled out. They will hustle you. Rolling out NHI in the districts oh yes it’s coming !”

The NHI scheme was recently expanded to Belize City’s northside and other municipalities.