sunday, september 2, 2007 the independent reformer page 1...

Sunday, September 2, 2007 The INdependent Reformer

INdependent Vol. 2 No. 34 Sunday, September 2, 2007 $1.00

Belize’s Rebel Paper

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By JOHN PAIN, Associated PressMIAMI - Hurricane Dean was the

third-most intense Atlantic hurricane tomake landfall since record keeping be-gan in the 1850s, based on its centralatmospheric pressure, forecasters said.

The pressure in a hurricane’s eye isoften used to compare storms through-out history because in the past, windgauges were often damaged or de-stroyed by powerful hurricanes. Now,technology exists to more accuratelymeasure winds, said Jamie Rhome, ahurricane specialist with the NationalHurricane Center.

“And the damage is caused by thewind, so that’s what most people lookat,” he said.

But pressure also measures strength:the lower the pressure, the greater ahurricane’s power to suck in air. A

Dean 3Dean 3Dean 3Dean 3Dean 3rdrdrdrdrd most intense hurricane most intense hurricane most intense hurricane most intense hurricane most intense hurricane

hurricane’s winds are blown becausehigher-pressure air rushes toward thelower-pressure eye to equalize the dif-

ference.Typically, the lower the pressure, the

faster the air speeds in. But because of

other variables in each storm, a certainpressure does not always correspondto a specific wind speed.

Dean was a top-scale Category 5storm at landfall Tuesday on Mexico’sYucatan Peninsula. Its maximum sus-tained winds were near 165 mph andgusts reached 200 mph. Just beforelandfall, a Global Positioning Systemdevice dropped from a hurricane hunteraircraft found it had a central pressureof 906 millibars, forecasters said.

The only other storms that hit land witha lower pressure were the 1935 LaborDay hurricane that hit the Florida Keysand Hurricane Gilbert, which hitCancun, Mexico, in 1988, forecasterssaid.

Gilbert caused more than 300 deathsin Latin America and the Caribbean. The

Hurricane Dean’s 165mph winds blewdown trees, ripped off many rooftops and left amnyfamilies homelss in Corozal

As if the damage to the north and anxi-ety throughout the rest of Belize fromHurricane Dean was not enough, onWednesday Belize City was practicallyunderwater as a tropical wave dumpedtorrents of rain. The Belize Met officereported that over 10 inches of rain fellin one day! More rain in one day thanthe previous record of 7.2 inches forthe entire month of August.

The drains in low-lying streets in thisbelow sea level town just could not ab-sorb all the water coming down so rap-idly and within a matter of hourspeople’s homes and businesses on lowerflats had water spilling over their thresh-olds.

The Northern Highway was sub-merged in the usual trouble spots be-fore the Haulover Bridge and Ladyvillehad a half mile stretch of flooded road,both of which threatened to make thehighway virtually impassable had therains continued unabated.

Princess Margaret Drive was a river

DoubDoubDoubDoubDouble le le le le TTTTTrrrrroubouboubouboublelelelele

(Please Turn To Page 10)An SUV churns up a wake as it ploughs through flood waters on Barrack Road after torrential rains on Wednesday.

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Letters to the EditorLetters to the EditorLetters to the EditorLetters to the EditorLetters to the Editor


Letters to the EditorLetters to the EditorLetters to the EditorLetters to the EditorLetters to the EditorAlarmed and

AshamedDear Editor,

I recently received a call asking ifI would donate to the relief efforts inthe Corozal District. Evidently theBelizeans in the Tampa area are ask-ing for funds so that they can shipdown some bottled water and othersupplies. The Belize newspapers havestories of unhappiness and some seri-ous problems with relief supplies beingdistributed.

It all brought back the horror sto-ries of the hurricane Iris relief efforts inMango Creek area and SouthernBelize. The number one helpers interms of not trying to steal anythingor make a profit out of Hurricane Iriswere the Mennonites. Never in mylife did I see such withholding ofgoods and services for the poorpeople that needed help the most thanduring Iris!

I was really ashamed to see thestealing of funds and material bythose in charge. It appears to me thatthe same might happen again in re-

gards to this distribution effort…Signed,KC

Stop Dog poisoningDear EditorGreetings from Seine Bight Vil-

lage. I am writing in response to thestrychnine eradication being plannedfor Belmopan 26 August.

I am a Belizean, and a member ofthe Placencia Humane Society and Ihave to agree with the BelmopanHumane Society that such a practiceis totally inhumane and senseless andcan be handled in a more modern waythat does not harm any beloved pets.

The poisoned chicken will bearound for days. Yes, you may kill afew strays but you will also kill pets.Most cats are not tied or leashed,plus, the poison is around for a longtime after the date of poisoning, andcan poison any wild creature or birdas well, not to mention a dog beingwalked properly on a leash—we seeour own dogs gobble up garbage offthe beach even when we are scold-ing them. They just cannot resist!

My family experienced the strych-

nine poisoning of our beloved dogDee in 2005. She was in our yardbut someone planning a robberythrew some strychnine-laced meatinto the yard that night and she ate it.We were lucky enough that a veteri-narian was conducting clinic in ourarea the next day and we rushed herto the clinic where she had bloodtransfusions for about 12 hours. Thestrychnine had seized up her musclesand her teeth had actually clampeddown so hard on her tongue that theteeth came through the other side.Her body was tensed as a rock. Ev-eryone at the clinic was horrified anda story in our local paper PlacenciaBreeze was printed about this terribleincident. Our dog was saved but onlylived a short 2 years before her livergave out from the poisoning, as theveterinarian explained might happen.A few months ago this year she suf-fered stroke, loss of coordination andfinally died, years ahead of her natu-ral time.

Dee was poisoned by strychnineand we all know the suffering an ani-

Editor

Karla Heusner Vernon

General Manager

Trevor Vernon

Design/Layout/

Environmental editor

William G . Ysaguirrre

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Another election is coming up andthe political machines are gearing upto make their pitch to a mass ofpeople with unclear vision. The pro-paganda is usually so stifling that thesmoke screens are layer deep. Youwould almost have to have a degreein political science to sift through thecesspool of cons, briberies, trickery,etc.

I would like to offer one logical ap-proach to it, a sort of a strategic vot-ing, a sifting tool to filter all of the gar-bage being thrown at you. This elec-tion is going to be like a math prob-ability, an equation so to speak.

What is the Value of X and whereshould it go? The Value of X is easilyanswered….”IT IS DIRECTLYPROPOTIONAL TO ONE’SSELFWORTH”! To some people Xmay be valued as a swamp lot offeredby a political bribe OR you can bebought for $100.00BZ,$1,000.00BZ, a political promise orfavor etc.

The fact of the matter is that a bribeis a criminal offence and any political

WWWWWherherherherhere to put me to put me to put me to put me to put my Xy Xy Xy Xy Xcandidate or their assigns’ offering youa bribe is a criminal, period! Do youwant to vote for a criminal? We madethat mistake already and look at themess we are in. Taking a bribe is alsoa criminal act.

Some people ask, “What if I taketheir offering but I vote against them?”Actually, that is not a criminal act asyou are not giving anything (your vote)in return. Voting is a private and moralissue. You are who you are you can-not lie to yourself.

When our civil servants (politicians)offer you a swamp lot (as they keepthe good stuff for themselves) don’tforget that we are the ones that haveempowered them to do this act byvirtue of the office we have given themby the power of our vote. It is there-fore part of our “constitutional right”to receive property form these civilservant ministers. THIS IS NOTTHEIR PROPERTY….THIS ISOUR HERITAGE AS BELIZEANS!

I truly believe that the value of Xshould be something with real mean-ing, a long term investment in yourcountry such as the greater good of

all Belizeans, the greater good for theenvironment, a better financial life foryour children and their children, abetter quality of life. Belizeans tendto have this “NOW” mentally—in-stant gratification and shortsightedness. Politicians know this factand they exploit you easily. They giveyou cash now, and they “own” youforever!

Life in Belize City is like living inthe past in Nazi Germany. There is atangible taste of fear in the air. Thereis an absence of police, desertedstreets at night, self imposed curfew,high violent crime. Keeps the peopleoccupied with fear, depressed, poorand helpless and control is yours. TheDevil operates best in chaos; I use theterm Devil loosely.

Yeah, but we have it all under con-trol (Belize’s socio economic, socioethnic, upwardly mobile and Nouveuxriche)…...We have our huge concretehomes/fortresses with concrete back-yards 3 stories high all dressed upwith barbed wire and pit bull terriers.Locked up tight inside with all of theNorth American luxuries such as large

colored TV, stereo, fancy furniture,expensive foods from superstores--WOW Double WOW. We have suc-ceeded in bringing the US to us! Thetrue fact is that we have created abeautiful JAIL for ourselves. We ven-ture outside in our air-conditionedSUV comfort OR we say somethingagainst the Government and we couldbe the next victim. Watch your Back!!

I feel diminished as a Belizean whenI hear the saying, “They are both thesame” referring to the two Politicalparties the PUP and the UDP. This isthe type of Propaganda the PUPdishes out and feeds off. You see, thisstatement justifies their corruption,gives them even credibility, a levelplaying field so to speak. This couldnot be more far from the truth. I sayto you: become informed before youutter and spread such ignorant state-ments. Become an educated Voter.Do your homework before you makethat ever so precious VOTE that allthose politicians are after; Researcheach candidate…each party’s mani-festo and make an informed commit-

By: Charles L. Payne


Mista, pleez fuMista, pleez fuMista, pleez fuMista, pleez fuMista, pleez fusom money fu buysom money fu buysom money fu buysom money fu buysom money fu buy

medicine fu mimedicine fu mimedicine fu mimedicine fu mimedicine fu mipicnee painapicnee painapicnee painapicnee painapicnee paina

belly?belly?belly?belly?belly?

It’s not about need! It’s all about GREED!!!It’s not about need! It’s all about GREED!!!It’s not about need! It’s all about GREED!!!It’s not about need! It’s all about GREED!!!It’s not about need! It’s all about GREED!!!


... just grumbling and fighting andbackstabbing as usual. Greedychoke puppy problems. So typical.So expected.

Could never happen to us

By: Karla Heusner Vernon

When Belizeans saw the imagesof Hurricane Katrina victims inNew Orleans, saw their poverty andfrustration when they tried to getaid, we told ourselves that wouldnever happen here.

We believed, as poor as so manyof us are, that the rest would pitch inand help if a hurricane destroyed oneof our cities or towns, devastated ourcountryside villages. We were sureour government would mobilize its re-sources faster than they did inLousiana. After all our country is sosmall. Surely we no one would sufferas they had back in the “old days,”after Hattie, after 1931. Belize is somuch more modern, up-to-date, wellconnected, internally and externally.Right?

From the pleas coming fromCorozal district residents, perhapsnot.

We have been astonished and as-tounded to hear and see villagersbegging for water, food, buildingmaterials. We knew GOB was es-sentially broke, but somehow con-vinced ourselves there was some re-serve money set aside in the treasuryfor emergencies, not just stashed awayfor elections or in politicians’ offshoreaccounts. We believed, deep down,that there was some remnant of de-cency in the indecent ones…..

But apparently there was no moneyto fix the shelters BEFORE the storm(although where it went will likely re-main a mystery only the IDB and oth-ers may attempt to solve), no moneyfor fuel for evacuation by bus, and noready money for water and rationsafterwards.

There couldn’t have been, or itwould not have taken three or fourdays for it all to begin trickling to-wards the desperate. Almost a weekfor government grants and loans tocome on stream.

Perhaps it was an emergency dis-persal from USAID, a western union

from Taiwan or Guatemala.Although, to be fair, there were

personal contributions from somelocal leaders; not the ones we ex-pected, who act as if they have thenorth under control, their personal

fiefdoms, but others who took the timeand commitment seriously to go therein person. There was a host of non-governmental and private enterprisesand volunteer groups who took on thejob of relief and rebuilding. The BDF,even prisoners from Kolbe, were sec-onded for clean-up duty. A casino inthe Free Zone helped provide water,PACT and others water and ice.

Much has been made of the tribalpolitics interfering with the distri-bution, of conflicts between NEMOand local government. What a sad,sorry commentary on our maturityas a country. A pathetic comparisonto our neighbors across the borderwho are able to join hands and riseabove party differences to savelives, prevent children from goinghungry or getting sick.

Why did our government notopen soup kitchens immediatelylike the Mexicans? Why did we notsee community work brigades or-ganized from a higher level?

Instead it was just grumbling andfighting and backstabbing as usual.Greedy choke puppy problems. Sotypical. So expected.

For like so many of our citizens whodo save for a rainy day, our govern-ment spends money like there is notomorrow. Refusing to learn the les-sons of so many near misses. Prodi-gal sons all.

And come September those of uswho panicked at our lack of cashto get ready for Dean will not go tothe bank or credit union and setaside some pay for the next disaster.No, no, we will spend it on bling andblang for the celebrations. Buy rumwith the money we said we did nothave for powdered milk, tins of cornedbeef and candles.

Come Christmas we will spendlavishly for fancy lacy curtains for

windows we bawled we had nomoney to protect with plywood. Wewill shamelessly festoon ourspouses and sweethearts and chil-dren with gold, just weeks after wecried we had no cash to put these

people we say we love on a planeor boat or bus and move them tohigher ground.

And during the General Elections?Why, all those politicians whoslapped away the hands of thepeople seeking water and food willreadily grease their palms withmoney for votes. Convinced somechunk of zinc whopped their victimin the head so hard he or she doesnot remember how they wereforced to live like animals so thatothers could live like princes. Be-lieve they will be so grateful for the“grant” they received to rebuildtheir humble home they will givetheir lifelong loyalty to the Patronwho patronized them so…

Come next June we will still nothave our boxes of supplies andbottled water, no chunk of changeset aside for rebuilding, no insur-ance for our home and its con-tents. We too will be as broke asour government… and go beg-ging for lodging and assistance.

For we all seem to believe we are

a charmed people, living in a goodcountry, blessed by the gods.

By June we will forget that backin August so many of our peoplewere lined up in the hot sun andsleeping in rain filled homes, asdeprived of food and water andshelter as those Americans up inNew Orleans af te r Kat r ina .Belizeans, our Belizeans, notstrangers or foreigners but peopleWE are responsible for.

The saddest part of all this is,Belize will not learn anything yetagain. We will continue to exposethousands more men and womenand children all across this land tothis same fate again next year….Continuing to believe, despite all thetwisted zinc and downed trees andruined crop evidence, that true suf-fering could never happen to us.That somehow, someway, someonewill have us covered. That neitherwe, nor our government, have anyneed to set anything aside for thenext rainy day and wind filled night.Even though the next time Belizemight not be so “lucky.”

Attention Belizeans athome and abroad:

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People’s National Party leader WillMehia has adopted Toledo People’sEco Park Plan for the official PNP strat-egy and action plan for the sustainabledevelopment of the Toledo District.

Mehia has been involved with the for-mation of the Eco park plan for manyyears, beginning when he was Directorof TIDE, Toledo’s largest conversation/development origination. He authorizedTIDE’s staff to attend the Eco-parkplanning meetings, which led in Marchof 2003 to their signing what Dr.Palacio, General Manger of the ToledoDevelopment Corporation, who draftedthe M.O.U. , called a “historic docu-ment”.

For the first time in Toledo’s historythat representatives of all the electedpolitical leaders-- rural and urban-- theToledo Civil Society, the major cultural,conservation and development organi-zations including the USA Peace Corpssigned in support of the further devel-opment of the Toledo People’s Eco ParkPlan.

Mehia said “the Eco park is truly theway to go if we in Toledo are going tokeep the economic benefits of our richnatural resources and be able to de-velop them for own people”. Will fur-ther stated that “the Eco Park is the wayto guarantee that the resources of To-ledo are developed in sustainable ways

“PUP fails to run with the ball,“PUP fails to run with the ball,“PUP fails to run with the ball,“PUP fails to run with the ball,“PUP fails to run with the ball,PNP picks it up to score”PNP picks it up to score”PNP picks it up to score”PNP picks it up to score”PNP picks it up to score”

so they will be there for our children.The success of the Eco Park could serveas a model for the rest of Belize.

In all fairness to RT. Hon. PrimeMinster Said Musa, he has also beensupporting and recommending the Ecopark for many years now. In February2000 he sent Martin Enriquez, Chair-man of the Punta Gorda ConservationCommittee the urban of the Eco parkplan a letter of support stating, “I wishto confirm my support for the PuntaGorda Conservation Committee. I can-not underscore enough the importanceof protecting the rich flora and fauna ofthe area to which I known your organi-zation is fully committed our governmentshares this vision of eco tourism devel-opment for the south”.

Again in March of 2004, he sent Mr.Richard Thorpe, a distinguished plan-ner and volunteer for the eco parkworking team, a letter of support wherehe said ‘I am as anxious as you are tosee what need to be done to implementthe eco park plan for Toledo. As youso rightly note democracies work onlyif all kinds of residents get working andtake some responsibility”.

The most recent support was on Fri-day 12 July at a public meeting of thePUP at the sports center in PuntaGorda Town. The PM told a hugecrowd of nearly a thousand citizensof Toledo that he supported the ecoTourism plan and had directed thenew Minister of Land and NaturalResources to help the project and rec-ommend it to PACT for support.

Minister Mike Espat, Area Repre-sentative for Toledo East, told me thePrime Minster had told the Cabinetthat he wanted support for the EcoPark at their last meeting. While weall are sincerely grateful for the sup-port Prime Minister Musa has at-tempted to get for our eco park andthe many poor people who support

it, the fact is it’s been more thanseven years since his first letter ofsupport, four years since his secondletter and over two months since hislast and there has been no support of-fered from the Minister of TourismGodfrey Smith, who appears to onlybe interested in the big plans for thewealthy. Minister Mes, Area of Rep-resentative for Toledo West, as far aswe in Toledo know, has no plans forour development. Minister MikeEspat, Area Representive for ToledoEast and Chairman of the failed boardof the T.D.C has shown no knowl-edge of the eco-park plan or interestin supporting our people’s, or ourPrime Minister’s wishes.

In fact, if our Area Representativehad truly helped with the pilot projectfor the eco park back in 2003 when

M.O.U. was signed most people herebelieve we could have eliminated a lotof poverty in Toledo by now. The sad-dest fact is that while both our AreaRepresentatives refused to help thepeople of Toledo to develop the po-tential for eco tourism that Toledo has,they have no plan of their own to helpour poor people. They appear to onlyhave plans for the rich foreigners whoare rapidly taking advantage of themany opportunities.

No wonder the last survey taken inToledo shows that over one third ofour people are ready for a third party!No doubt Will Mehia and the PNPwill win a lot of votes by taking theToledo people’s Eco Park as their de-velopment plan. The PUP havedropped the ball. Power to all thepeople.

One of Hurricane Dean’s victims wasthe Port Costa Maya cruise ship termi-nal near the village of Mahahual, Mexico.The cruise ship docking pier was at least50% destroyed, and the village of 300people, established just to serve thecruise ships, was wiped out, althoughthanks to a required evacuation therewas no loss of life.

Bad news for Mahahual could begood news for Belize’s cruise tourismindustry. It’s expected that some cruiseship operators will replace Costa Mayawith stops in either Belize City orRoatan, while others will stay longer inCozumel or reroute to other parts ofthe Caribbean. Some 300 ships dockedat Costa Maya in 2006, with about

Costa Maya’s bad forCosta Maya’s bad forCosta Maya’s bad forCosta Maya’s bad forCosta Maya’s bad fortune maytune maytune maytune maytune mayspell temporarspell temporarspell temporarspell temporarspell temporary increase iny increase iny increase iny increase iny increase in

Belize cruise tourismBelize cruise tourismBelize cruise tourismBelize cruise tourismBelize cruise tourism

By: Lan Sluder

Mexico’s second largest cruise port,opened just six years ago at CostaMaya on the southern Yucatan Pen-insula, was severely damamged byHurricane Dean and will be closed forrepairs at least until mid-2008, aCosta Maya spokesman saidWednesday.

Dean made landfall at the port Tues-day morning as a Category 5 hurri-cane. About half of the port’s infra-structure, including the cruise shippier, was damaged. Repairs will takean estimated six to eight months andcost millions of dollars, officials said.

HurHurHurHurHurricane damaricane damaricane damaricane damaricane damaggggge ce ce ce ce closesloseslosesloseslosesCosta MaCosta MaCosta MaCosta MaCosta Mayyyyya cra cra cra cra cruise poruise poruise poruise poruise porttttt

The port opened in 2001 with a pierthat could accommodate three cruiseships and a 70,000 square foot shop-ping and entertainment complex andgrew quickly in popularity. Last yearit hosted more than half a millioncruise passengers.

Most of the major cruise lines makeport calls at Costa Maya, about 150miles south of Cancun and just northof the Belize border. As of Wednes-day, neither Carnival nor Royal Car-ibbean, two of the port’s most fre-quent users, had decided on an alter-nate port.--Miami Herald

600,000 passengers from around adozen cruise ship lines, including Car-nival, Princess, Royal Caribbean,Seabourn and others. It is the MexicanCaribbean’s second-busiest cruise port,after Cozumel. It is expected to take atleast six months to rebuild the cruise ter-minal.

The number of cruise ships and pas-sengers visiting Belize has been declin-ing since its peak in 2004 of around850,000; cruise ship passengers atBelize City totaled 656,000 in 2006,although the first few months of 2007saw an increase over the same periodin 2006.

(You can read more about Belizeantourism by Lan Sluder by going towww.belizefirst.com)

The Costa Maya port at Majahual before Hurricane Dean.

By: William SchmidtPG correspondent forINdependent Weekly


By: Ray Auxillou(Swing Voter)

WWWWWho to vho to vho to vho to vho to vote fote fote fote fote for?or?or?or?or?

Part 1Like many of you, I don’t know who

to vote for. By chance, I caught a Chan-nel 5 news program on TV Thursdaynight. It covered the National HealthInsurance issues, the tour of the PrimeMinister in the Toledo District. Follow-ing this was a story on CARICOM andthe $5 billion food importation bill inforeign exchange, experienced collec-tively by CARICOM countries. Thenthere was the new extended airport re-view, which was quite well explained,by Minister Godfrey Smith, I believe.All good issues to discuss with a com-ing election for a new government inBelize.

I am as yet undecided. But here iswhat I do know: the PUP advertisingdocumentary program covering the To-ledo Tour of the Prime Minister is de-signed of course to get votes. Perfectlylegitimate use of party campaign mon-ies. Over the past ten years, Musa hastaken it to heart to see that the ToledoDistrict got more attention from gov-ernment departments and services. Thatimpressed me greatly.

From his commercial documentary, Iwas counting the things his PUP haddone for the Toledo District in the lastfive years. There is a school buildingdone in the coastal village of Barranco.Wasn’t that built by the US Army orsomething? There were a couple offoundation posts being dug for a futurebridge to connect the village of CriqueSarco with the rest of the country. Ithadn’t been built yet though and prob-ably will never be in the immediate fu-ture.

There has been a lot in the newspa-pers and on this PUP documentaryabout land titles for Toledo residents.That might be impressive as an accom-plishment, but I don’t know how muchis hype and bombast and how much isreality. It’s hard enough getting titles toland in the Cayo District. I can’t imag-ine it will be easier in the Toledo Dis-trict. All in all, the documentary was in-teresting for scenery as a travelogue, butnot very informative for vote getting.

With the PUP National Debt crisisbeing what it is, I haven’t really expectedtoo much of anything, so what has not

happened in Toledo, I don’t find toodistressing. I can understand a nation indebt and the choices one must make.Where it becomes confusing is when thepaucity of development in Toledo iscontrasted with the Universal HealthCare Hospital fiasco. A total debt costthat will, at 17% interest, cost us tax-payers another $120 million, the Op-position say, before it is over and if thePUP get elected for next term.

Street people tell me there are no in-vestors for this private hospital and theannouncement of same, was just a po-litical gambit to take a bad publicity is-sue off the election campaigning table,until the PUP win again.

On the other hand, some newspapersare saying that Ashcroft and his BelizeBank can see the writing on the wall

and he is going to London arbitration,to make the PUP Government pay up,based on Musa’s assigning responsibil-ity to us taxpayers. Or really make thedebt legal somehow, since there is aquestion of the legality of Musa’s uni-lateral action without Cabinet and Leg-islative authorization, binding on the nextelected government, before the PUPleave office? We can only await devel-opments on that one! The original loanwas with the DFC and this institution issupposed to go bankrupt and thus ne-gate the Belize Bank loan. They shouldget pennies on the dollar, like any bank-ruptcy creditor. I don’t care aboutMusa’s ego here; this loan is not a validtaxpayer obligation!

Stewart Krohn for Channel 5, a PUPleaning station most of the time, did ask

some questions on the NHI medical ser-vice issue that had been puzzling me.Belizeans will have to pay $10 for ser-vice at the doctors and give their socialsecurity number. The rest of their medi-cal services via private for profit refer-ral doctors will be paid for by the gov-ernment. This just doesn’t ring true!

When pressed by TV interviewerKrohn, Minister Coye said the oil incomewould pay for medical services through aspecial fund, added to Government’s de-ductions from revenues for medical ser-vice. This definitely sounded fishy to me.

How can they pay medical service withoil money and can’t pay the landownerstheir oil royalties? The small oil field wasonly supposed to last two years and timeis fast running out… Other quasi experts

(Please turn to Page 8)

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Secretary General ofthe Organisationof American States (OAS), Dr. JoséMiguel Insulza, has named PamelaCoke Hamilton, first female and firstJamaican national, as the new directorof the Department of Trade, Tourismand Competitiveness (DTTC), effectiveAugust 1.

In her new job, Pamela CokeHamilton will seek to bolster andsupport the efforts of the OAS mem-ber- states to expand trade opportu-nities, increase competitiveness andfoster economic integration through-out the Americas.

The division also focuses on tour-ism development, which is a crucial areaof importance for the CARICOMmember-states of the OAS. The depart-ment also seeks to strengthen and en-hance the contribution of this critical

OAS names Jamaican director,OAS names Jamaican director,OAS names Jamaican director,OAS names Jamaican director,OAS names Jamaican director,Department of Trade & TourismDepartment of Trade & TourismDepartment of Trade & TourismDepartment of Trade & TourismDepartment of Trade & Tourism

the Sir Shridath Ramphal Centre forInternational Trade Law Policy andServices, which has conducted numer-ous capacity-building exercises forCARICOM member-states, includingtraining trade policy analysts for aprogramme aimed at developing tradenegotiating capacity within Common-wealth states.

An attorney by profession, Mrs.Coke Hamilton has had a long ca-reer in trade policy and trade nego-tiations at the national, regional andinternational levels. She previouslyserved as a trade negotiator for theGovernment of Jamaica in bothGeneva and Washington, and wasthe Free Trade Area of the Ameri-cas coordinator for CARICOM’sRegional Negotiating Machinery.

--the Jamaica Gleaner

sector to the overall regional thrust toincrease employment and to realisehigher and more sustainable levels ofeconomic growth and prosperity withinthe Caribbean.

Mrs. Coke Hamilton currently holdsthe position of Principal Trade Special-ist with the OAS, with specific respon-sibility for CARICOM trade capacity-building.

In addition, since July 2004, she hasspearheaded, under a cooperativeagreement between the OAS and theUniversity of the West Indies, Cave Hill,the establishment of the Masters in In-ternational Trade Policy (MITP)programme, which is now an interna-tionally recognised programme for train-ing of trade policy specialists.

Capacity-building exercisesShe has also served as the director of

WWWWWho to vho to vho to vho to vho to vote fote fote fote fote for?or?or?or?or?say that while gas pressure may decline,there might be lower production vol-ume of oil over another ten or fifteenyears, but never again at the rate the oilis flowing right now and soon to slowdown. Any oil revenues are going todrop off any month now? There are noother oil finds, at least not that I’ve heardof. Trinidad just had some of their gasfield run dry and have no more naturalgas, just as an example of what can hap-pen.

NHI, as touted by the PUP, soundslike some sort of copy cat deal fromsome other country. I don’t see it work-ing for long, at $10 co-payment for poorpeople. Forty years ago I had to paygovernment $50 co-payment for thebirth of each of my daughters in theBelize City hospital by the waterside.How could it be less now?

So the whole NHI thing is confusing.PUP Health Minister Coye has said hedoesn’t think the Social Security shouldpay for it. I agree with that! I’d hate forthe PUP to break the Social SecurityFund like they did the DFC. Anothere-mail writer stated that Social Secu-rity has funded the present NHI pilotproject in South Side and lent their So-cial Security staff to the running of it.Yet, the PUP have announced they willbe expanding the NHI project as a donedeal, prior to the election and NHI willbe established elsewhere in the nationbefore then. (Sound like one of thoseelection campaign gimmicks?)

Yet PUP Health Minister Coye hassaid the Cabinet does not know howthey are going to pay for it. General Rev-

enue fund has no money. They cannoteven fix our streets up here in SantaElena town, or elsewhere in the coun-try for lack of money. Social Securityhas money if we wish to bleed that dry.Which apparently is the way they aredoing it now. How can you implementa project as huge as this without know-ing how to pay for it?

In other health news, it seems DistrictHospitals will now be called Polyclin-ics. Which means what? Far as I cansee, these district hospitals are nowgoing to be emergency field dressingstations and transporting all seriouscases to Belmopan via ambulance.

If you die because of delays, or timespent on the road, too bad. Apparentlyfrom the descriptive newspaper articles,Belmopan hospital is a TRIAGE sta-tion, meaning they call your loved onesto pick up your dead body, or they stickanother fresh IV in your arm and shootyou off to the center of ALL emergencyhealth care, which will be in the portBelize City by another fresh ambulance.Do you go to KHMH, or do you go tothis new MUSA funded $120 millionexpensive rich folks hospital calledUHS? If you go to UHS, who pays andwhat is going to happen to KHMH? Isthat just another Polyclinic now for re-ferrals? What happens to current medi-cal funding? Does it go into a new fund,to pay UHS for emergencies? Or pri-vate doctors who will rapidly be settingup their own private for profit diagnos-tic clinics to suck Social Security Medi-cal funding program dry?

Some doctors will now form partner-ships obviously and become polyclin-

ics of their own and specialists, so theycan have the General Practitioner lookat you, then double charge you to gosee his stockholder buddy as a Spe-cialist referral. There are so many waysto rip off the government taxpayer….

The medical profession is as greedyas any other group of people. Can youimagine the flurry of tests you will haveto get done, and expert doctor referralsto treat a simple flu, by a batch of pri-vate get rich quick scam artist doctors(a common medical scam by doctors inthe USA). Anywhere else they did thissystem, like the USA; it broke, or isbreaking the government treasury. It suresounds like the public slander askingMusa how much stock he had in NHSmight have some foundation, here? Aprivate hospital venture, getting a $120million cost free government debt guar-antee? One can see if the NHI referralprogram was planned to feed custom-ers to the Universal Health Services attheir alleged $10,000 a day costs, howsomebody was going to ruin Social Se-curity and the government general rev-enues. Another plunder and looting de-bacle on the horizon, it looks like tome…

On the other hand, one reads all thetime in the newspapers how govern-ment creditors can’t get paid anyway. Ican’t imagine UHS cashiers taking trea-sury vouchers that won’t be honored.I’ve still got a 32 year old TreasuryVoucher I’ve spent more money thanit’s worth, trying to collect on it, severaltimes over. I keep meaning to frame itand put it on the wall to remind meNEVER to take a government treasury

voucher under the PUP. Or can youimagine doctors waiting either and theywill have to quadruple their fees to hustlethe insurance collection expenses from thetreasury. Can’t you just picture a $10 co-payment mother of premature triplets run-ning up five months in special medical careunits and $4 million dollars in medical billsat UHS and multiply that scenario by50,000 medical customers. It won’t takelong to break the government AGAIN!The system we have, or had, is superiorto NHI.

More of the issues of interest to swingvoters like myself next week!

(Continued From Page 7)

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Pamela Coke Hamilton


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27/08/2007David Cameron (PA)David Cameron was yesterday ac-

cused of losing his grip on the partyafter allowing an offshore billionaireto control the Tories’ election cam-paign.

Controversial Lord Ashcroft hastaken over a large office at party HQto oversee strategy in target areas.

The peer, with extensive businessinterests in tax haven Belize , ispumping cash from one of his invest-ment firms into chosen marginalseats.

But senior Tories are alarmed he isdeveloping a rival power base to theirfloundering leader’s despite beingunelected and unaccountable.

Opposition parties claimed it wasa clear sign of Mr Cameron’s grow-ing weakness.

Labour whip Tom Watson said:“Cameron seems to be lettingAshcroft take more power while heincreasingly loses his grip on theleadership.

“For some months Cameron hasshown he can’t run the party and theold guard are taking it back.” LibDem peer Lord Oakeshott added:“The Tories are still taking moneyfrom Michael Ashcroft despite thecontroversy over his offshore situa-tion, which is absolutely outrageous.

“How can Cameron claim to besocially responsible when he is let-

Secretive lordruns Tory vote

ting him increase his own alternativepower base?”

Lord Ashcroft, who has dual citi-zenship of the UK and Belize , hasgiven the party more than £10million.

But he has drawn flak for his com-mercial dealings in the CentralAmerican country and the fact thathe was made a peer in 2000 withoutpermanently living in Britain andpaying full income tax.

He also has close links to the Turksand Caicos Islands , another tax ha-ven for the super-rich.

The tycoon, a former party trea-surer, has previously shown his will-ingness to defy Tory leaders.

In 2004 he clashed with MichaelHoward when he insisted his £2mil-lion donation support specific can-didates rather than the national cam-paign.

There is mounting speculation Gor-don Brown could call an election asearly as October.

Lord Ashcroft, in a sign of hisgrowing influence in the party, e-mailed activists last week urgingthem to keep him informed of theircampaigns.

The note said his team was on elec-tion alert and that a “Field Campaign-ing Department” had been set up tooversee the blitz on target seats.

He added: “Over the coming weekswe will be producing a range of cam-paign materials but I wanted to out-line a few particular priority ser-vices.”

ment to vote!The PUP has laid down a legacy of

corruption. They were given a secondchance by the Belizean People….theyeven Promised attacking corruptionon their pulpit acceptance speech fortheir second “MERRY-GO-ROUND.”The corruption actually in-creased a hundred fold.

In the United States, a President canonly serve two terms. If he turns outto be a bad apple for the country, hecan only do so much damage and heis gone for god. Besides, it keepsthem from entrenching and getting toomuch POWER. Great Wisdom. Weshould adopt it sometime.

The UDP needs to be on top of theirgame and remain resilient if they areto win this election. They make goodmanagers of our economy and Lordknows we need to get our economy

back in order. No political party isperfect, but as reasonable intelligentBelizeans, we have seen both partiesperformances in the past and canjudge for ourselves without the influ-ences of propaganda.

WHO SHOULD I VOTE FOR?Let’s examine the situation.

The PUP…not an option! Unlessif you are a PUP. Too difficult to pen-etrate that kevlar armor. I won’t eventry. Too much entrenched brainwash-ing, indoctrination, bribes, hand-outs,partybashes, material greed and justplain old needy. These robots will onlyvote PUP even if the sky was to fallon them.

The Independent Candidates…..inmy humble opinion, although it isclearly democracy at work and I re-spect them and love their courage, Ido not believe that they are ready for2008 Not equipped, not experienced,

not organized, not financed, not wellknown and no established manifesto.

The only viable option I see is theUDP. I also see a clear and presentdanger that the independent candi-dates will no doubt take valuable votesaway from the only true adversary thePUP has.

Political history at home andabroad has shown that independents,although well intended, have notyielded much success. Those redi-rected votes will hurt the UDP; asthose are the votes most likely to comefrom leery and weary voters who arefed up with “poly-tricks” as a whole.Other votes that are up for grabs arefrom new immigrants (you can bet thatPUP has them well tied up) and theuninformed and the undecided. Thissituation could conceivably give thePUP a chance towards a minority vic-tory.

Let’s not take our eyes off the real

prize: “TO CHANGE THIS COR-RUPT GOVERNMENT”!

I believe that at least under a UDPadministration the Independents canforge ahead… on a fair playing field,with no threats of violence, putting forttheir agendas and becoming a bonafide and credible political force to bereckoned with in the following elec-tion.

Meaningful change usually comesslowly and caution is in the wind toquick unprepared changes. Thischange will bring Belize into a Multi-Political Party system with morechecks and balances, which is goodfor the country, bringing us closer tothat elusive imaginary figment calledDemocracy.

Do you know where your X Be-longs?

I do!

WWWWWherherherherhere to put me to put me to put me to put me to put my Xy Xy Xy Xy X(Continued From Page 4)


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and Freetown Road was more like a ca-nal in Venice with vehicles passing eachother like boats creating a wake behindthem. Small cars, even some pickups andvans stalled and were abandoned by theirdrivers. Pedestrians waded in knee-deepwater trying to reach home.

Schools all across the city were dis-missed by 2 pm and many offices senttheir employees home well before fiveto allow them time to secure their fami-lies and premises. The Belize City Coun-cil reopened several hurricane sheltersand advised residents of Belama phases3 and 4 to evacuate. However, it seemsthe waters began to subside, or peoplewere reluctant to leave and no one tookthe city council up on their offer.

Forecasters had predicted another 24to 36 hours of rain, but strangely it didnot appear and fortunately too, forBelize City would have had some seri-ous difficulties if it had.

On Thursday, much of the water hadreceded but many homeowners were

DoubDoubDoubDoubDouble le le le le TTTTTrrrrroubouboubouboublelelelele(Continued From Page 1)

Cars and trucks looked more like boats on Freetown Road in Belize City at the height of the rains.

Boledo buyers stood in water up to their ankles at this neighborhood shop.

A motorcycle looked more like jet ski on North Front Street.

(Please turn to page 11)


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Many schools in the Corozal Districtwere not spared by Hurricane Dean buthave proved to be resilient in times ofreverse entropy. Despite the great loss,schools made every attempt to bringlife to normality for their wind batteredstudents today.

One such school is the agriculturallybased High School, the St. Viator Vo-cational High School, which lies about1.5 Miles beyond Chunox Village, onthe Sarteneja Road, in the Corozal Dis-trict. The school may have been irre-versibly kept back in it’s aspirations toreach out to students in the informationtechnology area. The High School lostfive Windows XP based computers tomoisture. (Some five sheets of zincwere blown offfrom the School’s roof.)

The School was also hit in the agri-cultural area, losing some fifty chickenlayers. Also lost were about five thou-sand dollars worth of seedlings. Thegood news is that the school now hasfresh water; as it has a back-up water

High School in CorozalHigh School in CorozalHigh School in CorozalHigh School in CorozalHigh School in Corozalopens Doors despiteopens Doors despiteopens Doors despiteopens Doors despiteopens Doors despite

major set-backsmajor set-backsmajor set-backsmajor set-backsmajor set-backstank. Principal Patrociana Cho ( Tel:420-2031) is confident that better con-ditions will come with time.

1935 hurricane was responsible formore than 400 deaths in the Keys, pri-marily among World War I veteransworking on a highway connecting theisland chain to the mainland.

Only eight other Category 5 stormshave been known to hit land in the At-lantic basin, including Gilbert, the 1935hurricane, Hurricane Camille in 1969and Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Andrewhad top sustained winds of 165 mph atlandfall. It was the second-most expen-

Dean 3Dean 3Dean 3Dean 3Dean 3rdrdrdrdrd most intense hurricane most intense hurricane most intense hurricane most intense hurricane most intense hurricanesive hurricane in U.S. history, after Hur-ricane Katrina.

Hurricane Wilma is the most intenseAtlantic hurricane ever recorded in termsof pressure: It was at 882 millibarswhen it was in the Caribbean before itweakened ahead of landfall in theYucatan.

The lowest pressure ever re-corded in a tropical cyclone was870 millibars in Typhoon Tip in thenorthwest Pacific Ocean in 1979.

(Continued From Page 1)DoubDoubDoubDoubDouble le le le le TTTTTrrrrroubouboubouboublelelelele

(Continued From Page 10)left to mop out and try to dry their fur-niture and other belongings.

The bad weather could almost bedescribed as a freak storm for althoughthe weather bureau had warned thepublic of the wave, their personnel ad-mitted none of the computer modulespredicted such a heavy downpour, mostforecasting only 2-4 inches, not the 10

inches which actually fell.Many Belizeans joked the storm

brought the rain they had expected fromHurricane Dean, but the volume of wa-ter on city streets and the northern high-way was no laughing matter. Just a so-bering reminder of vulnerable Belize Cityremains and how quickly conditions candeteriorate, catching thousands offguard and unprepared.

Barrack Road looked more like the Belize River.


Teen ly

Page

ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20)You must avoid gossip and focus on

what you have to do. Listen to the com-plaints of others. A trip to visit relativesshould be rewarding. Recognition canbe yours if you present your ideas andstand behind your beliefs. Your luckyday this week will be Tuesday.TAURUS (Apr. 21- may 21) Social activity should be on youragenda this week. Your lack of atten-tion may have been a factor. You canbuy or sell if you’re so inclined. Try notto let your emotions interfere with thecompletion of your work. Your luckyday this week will be Wednesday.GEMINI (May 22-June 21) Your own small business on the side

sounds pretty lucrative. You need tomake your environment a better place,with more comforts and a better enter-tainment center. Your position may bein question if you haven’t been pullingyour weight. Be careful what you con-sume this week. Your lucky day thisweek will be Thursday.CANCER (June 22-July 22)

Short trips will be educational. Don’tbe too quick to judge partners or thoseyou work with. Be careful; you mayupset someone you live with if you don’tconsult with them. Update and reviewyour personal investments. Your luckyday this week will be Tuesday.LEO (July 23-Aug 22)

You should check out prestigious

clubs or groups that have a cause youbelieve in. You’ll look guilty if you don’tlay your cards on the table. This maynot be your day if you are overly melo-dramatic and unnerving everyonearound you. Secret affairs could causeupset. Your lucky day this week will beSunday.VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23) Someone is trying to pull the woolover your eyes, and if you’re gullible, itmay cost you. You will be popular andwill easily attract members of the op-posite sex. Take care of chores thathave been hanging over your head. Se-cret love affairs may be enticing; how-ever, you must be prepared for the re-straints that will follow. Your lucky daythis week will be Friday.LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23)

You may have difficulties with foreign-ers. Try not to allow your partner to leadyou astray or upset your routine. Youcan make changes to your domesticscene that will benefit all who reside

there. You’ll find it easy to meet newpeople. Your lucky day this week willbe Monday. SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22)

This will not be the best day to try topush your ideas or concerns. You maycause a fuss if you come on too stronglyin public. Self improvement projectsshould be your key concern. Decep-tion in your home is evident. Don’t beataround the bush. Your lucky day thisweek will be Monday.SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21)

Your ability to take hold of a situationwill surely bring you popularity andleadership. Over spending or unex-pected bills could set you back. Try tobe there for someone if they need as-sistance. Keep tabs on your spending.Your lucky day this week will be Thurs-day.CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20)

Keep calm. Someone around you isbouncing off the walls. Secret enemies(Please Turn To Page 15)


may be holding a grudge that you’re noteven aware of. Don’t say things thatcould be damaging later on. Cut loose.You need some help this week. Yourlucky day this week will be Friday.AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19)

You will have a tendency to put onpounds. If everyone wants to do theirown thing, let them. Get the red tapeand the unwanted paperwork out of theway. You can get the attention of im-portant individuals but it might not bethe time to get them to help or to backyour ideas. Your lucky day this weekwill be Thursday. PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20)

Don’t be shy; show your abilities! Donot get upset about situations you can-not change. You can enjoy short trips.You can make money, but try not to letit slip through your fingers. Your luckyday this week will be Wednesday.

(Continued From Page 12)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — TheU.S. Government through the U.S.Agency for International Development(USAID) announced it will provide$50,000 to support the relief efforts ofthe Government of Belize (GOB) aris-ing from Hurricane Dean. In addition,USAID will provide emergency reliefsupplies, valued at approximately$50,000, to the Belize Red Cross forhurricane-affected populations in north-ern Belize. These supplies include 500wool blankets, 1,056 hygiene kits, 100rolls of plastic sheeting, and 5 chainsawkits. The total value of the assistance is$100,000.

Hurricane Dean made landfall ap-proximately 40 miles north of the Belize-Mexico border as a category five storm.According to the GOB, high winds andheavy rains resulting from the hurricanehave caused significant damage to hous-ing and agriculture in the northern dis-tricts of Corozal and Orange Walk,

US helps Belize afterUS helps Belize afterUS helps Belize afterUS helps Belize afterUS helps Belize afterHurricane DeanHurricane DeanHurricane DeanHurricane DeanHurricane Dean

which the GOB declared disaster ar-eas on August 21. Preliminary assess-ments by the GOB report that the hur-ricane damaged more than 1,500houses, rendering approximately 2,000people homeless in northern districtsand causing an estimated $5 million indamage. Initial aerial estimates also in-dicate that the storm destroyed the en-tire export papaya crop, valued at morethan $20 million, and caused at least$1.2 million in damage to sugar crops,affecting the livelihoods of small farm-ers.

On August 23, U.S. Chargéd’Affaires Leonard A. Hill declared adisaster in Belize due to the impact ofHurricane Dean. USAID has a two-member emergency team in Belizewhich has assessed and identified needsin conjunction with the GOB’s NationalEmergency Management Organization,and U.S. Embassy staff have conductedaerial assessments utilizing U.S. militaryhelicopters.

Hurricane dean affected homes in Corozal and Orange Walk, flattened cane fields andpapaya plantations and uprooted numerous trees.


Guest GallerGuest GallerGuest GallerGuest GallerGuest Galleryyyyy

IW Reader Karol Valecillo on a recent trip to Egypt

Independent Weekly’s rambling reporter William Ysaguirre sent us this image from thedeck of the ‘Maid of the Mist’ at the foot of the horseshoe falls at Niagara, Canada.

The Maid of the Mist IV is one of several vessels which carry visitors to Niagara right upto the base of the horseshoe falls, the better to appreciate the magnificence of the falls..

If you have any photos you would like to sharewith Independent readers in our Guest Gallery,

send your digital jpg or tiff images [email protected].

Melanie Ysaguirre and Daniel Weber, both of Rochester, New York, exchanged vows ofholy matrimony at the St Thomas Episcopal Church on Saturday, August 25,2007.

Melanie is the daughtter of Belizean parents, former Customs broker Jim Ysaguirre(r.i.p.) and well-loved school teacher Zoila Carmona Ysaguirre (r.i.p.).

aspiring photographer/designer Julia Heusner did this collage of her cat, Louie.

Strange sight: a gas truck 100 yds from shore. (courtesy San Pedro Sun)


Letters to the EditorLetters to the EditorLetters to the EditorLetters to the EditorLetters to the Editor(Continued From Page 1)

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mal goes through—it takes a long tor-turous time to die. I don’t know howyou feel about pets but my family suf-fered terribly over this incident. Wewere saddened by the senseless cru-elty & pain that an innocent creature hadto endure, and for what? We wonderedwhere the strychnine came from be-cause it’s not sold in stores for rat poi-son anymore. Now I am wondering ifthe strychnine came from the govern-ment strychnine eradication program.Some scamp could have stolen it ormight have been hired by one of thesetowns in an “eradication” project & kept

some for personal reasons.I will be personally emailing a story

about Dee’s case to the newspapers.It’s time to share the grief & reality.Belizeans are more humane that that,and everyone I spoke to hates thestrychnine eradication program. I in-clude a picture of our much missedpet and hope you as a sensible andproud Belizean will be moved to stopthis cruel eradication.

SincerelyLinn WilsonSeine Bight VillagePlacencia Peninsulacc: Mayor of Belmopan

A fond fare-well to CharlesWoods Sr, anavid reader ofIndependentWeekly, wholeft this earthso suddenlyand sadly.

Thank you Mr. Charles for sharing yourperspective with the editor over the years

for hercolumn and book.

Condolences from the staff of Indepen-dent Weekly to the Woods Family, espe-

cially Silvana and Jackie and theirwonderful children.

“Listen”By Giselle O’Brien

Can you hear it?It’s called silenceIt happens when we all stopAnd we listen...Listen to the treesAnd the rustle of their leavesListen to the riverAs it runs into the seasListen to the birdsAnd the shuffle of their wingsListen to the insectsAnd the midnight song they singListenDo you hear it?It’s called silenceIt happens when we stopAnd we listen...Listen to our eldersAnd the wise beneath their wordsListen to the young onesAnd their ideas so absurd

Poet’s CornerPoet’s CornerPoet’s CornerPoet’s CornerPoet’s Corner

Announcement ofSale of Business

This article is to give notice that the business known asC@fé Caye operating at 12 Burns Ave, San Ignacio, CayoDistrict is under contract for sale. Completion of sale totake place 28th August 2007.Any persons or businesses who believe they have outstand-ing accounts to be paid from said business should contact;Rainforest Realty, PO Box 195, San Ignacio, Cayo Dis-trict, in writing 7 days before the date of completion.

Listen to the foolishAnd understand their viewsListen to the wiseAnd relish in their news

ListenWill you just listen?Its called silenceDevour it

TUNE IN Sundays on LOVE FMfrom 10:30 am to 12:30 pm


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sunday, september 2, 2007 the independent reformer page 1...

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