UDP fires off flurry of press releases calling on the government to take immediate action

Five press releases in one day, it is unheard of, but it did happen today.  At around four o’clock the Leader of the Opposition fired off five releases calling on the government to take action in several cases. 

The first release from the United Democratic Party calls for an official inquiry into the allegations of corruption and fraud, at the Lands Department, made by businessman Ricardo Borjas before he was brutally executed. Barrow noted that, ‘Borjas described an elaborate and sophisticated scam facilitated by senior officials in the Ministry of Natural Resources to duplicate and falsify land transactions and certificates. His decision to cooperate in an investigation to crack down on the scheme may have resulted in his death. Government is therefore obligated to put necessary resources towards an official inquiry into the deadly Borjas land fraud.  The official inquiry must unveil the officials in the Ministry of Natural Resources who facilitated the scam exposed by Borjas’ murder. How many public officials were participating in the scam and how far up does the involvement go? Why has no disciplinary action been taken even after names were revealed by the now deceased? The investigation must look into connections between Ministers of Government and the real estate company at the center of the million dollar fraud. What is it that could have a minister trying to disappear into a closed elevator door?” End of quote.

The second release had to do with crime, where the UDP stated that Belizeans’ sense of security is at an all-time low because of this extended spike in violent crimes across the country and the belief that those in the highest seat of power simply do not care when ordinary Belizeans are killed. A part of the release states, quote, “Briceno is the only Head of State in the entire world who has not held a single press conference in times of widespread deadly violence. Kareem Musa is the only police minister who disappears when there is a spike in crime. CEO Kevin Arthurs is the only absentee Chief in the history of police ministries. Every single warm blooded Belizean knows that this police leadership team is failing to protect citizens but most importantly failing to assure Belizeans that they are doing all they can to arrest crime and violence.”  End of quote. 

The UDP has also renewed its call for an independent audit of the gun license registry and an investigation into the widespread sale of gun licenses by senior officials in the Ministry of Police and Belize Police Department. Barrow asked in the third release, “How can the Commissioner of Police justify the approval of ten (10) gun licenses for any civilian, much less a civilian with questionable background? The credibility of Commissioner of Police Chester Williams is entirely shot as on an almost weekly basis he attempts to finesse his way out of one compromising position after another.” End of quote. 

In a fourth statement, the UDP lashed out at the government for restricting the protest yesterday on Ambergris Caye.  The release notes, quote, “Only an insecure, immature and thin skinned government would deploy an elite police unit to block citizens from moving freely and peacefully picketing on a public road. Such state expulsion of constitutionally enshrined basic human rights should serve as a warning to investors that this is not a government that abides by the laws of its own country. 

The fifth and final release has to do with Minister Andre Perez.  That release reads, quote, “while highly trained police officers are blocking streets in San Pedro to protect the feelings of sex perverts in government, students in Belize City are ducking for cover in the classrooms as the sound of gunshots interrupt lessons and bullets whistle through the air. Today there were reports of shootings near the Anglican Cathedral College and Sadie Vernon High School. These broad daylight shootings have our children even more traumatized as not even schools are safe anymore. The Minister of Police should prioritize our children over his perverted peers.”  End of quote.