It is easy to look at someone’s problems and solve them from a distance, but it is difficult to look at one’s own problems and solve them from within. By the actions taken by the Belize City council this week, that is the suspension of three of its employees, it has sent the signal that as difficult as it may be to deal with internal problems, the UDP council is up to the task. While the council can look at itself and say it is doing the right thing, the actions taken are in no small part attributed to the Central Government’s approach to issues such as the ones that have arisen at the council.
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After amendments were made to the Belize City Council Act, to tighten up on the financial management of the Belize City Council, there has been a proactive approach to ensure that the people’s money is properly spent. With a zero-tolerance attitude to wrongdoing, the UDP government has taken on the task of ensuring that whenever there is any indication that irregularities, be it financial or otherwise, are taking place in any government department or institution they are dealt with expeditiously and more importantly in a transparent manner.
It would appear that gone are the days when irregularities which are discovered are swept under the rug. The opposite is the order of the day. Whenever there is wrongdoing detected in any government department, institution or municipal authority, the light is now being shun on it to ensure that the Belizean people are fully apprised of the situation. The thing with irregularities is that if that is not done they begin to fester. The longer they are allowed to occur without them being addressed, the more cancerous they become. This leads to a chronic problem which in the end is near impossible to handle.
We can take example of what occurred under the past administration; not only were irregularities tolerated, in some instances they were encouraged. At the highest level of government, small irregularities began to mount on one another creating a culture of corruption. Probably the thought by those involved was that if the big man can do it so too can the small man. That philosophy no longer applies. This government was elected on a platform of transparency, accountability and more importantly a no nonsense approach to corruption. It would appear then that by the actions of the council to suspend three of its employees it is operating very much in line with the UDP platform.
There will be no tolerance to wrongdoing, those who are found mis-stepping will not only be called to order but will be exposed. After all people learn by example and probably the Belize City Council may well be the first to learn that the UDP is serious of the platform under which it was elected. Transparency and accountability are now the order of the day and there is now no questioning that.
