Leader of the People’s United Party, Johnny Briceño, has been on a tour of media houses and on every single one of his appearances, he has made it clear that the way the PUP will move forward will be at the expense of Belizeans.
Any political party that takes up the helm of the next Government will be faced with unprecedented challenges. The Covid-19 pandemic has put such a financial hurt on our economy that some tough decisions will have to be taken in order to bridle the economic hardships that will be encountered. For the People’s United Party, the way they will tackle it has been made clear by their leader. It will be a mix of discontinuing infrastructure projects and firing teachers and public officers.
On multiple occasions Johnny Briceño has stated that he will discontinue the ongoing highway projects which include the Sarteneja Road, the Coastal Road, the Caracol Road, the George Price Highway and the Philip Goldson Highway. If he indeed is successful at halting these projects, it would mean that hundreds of Belizeans will be placed on the long line of unemployment that has been brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. What Briceño has failed to realize is that because these projects are ongoing, it means that many, many persons who have been displaced from their jobs as a result of the pandemic have been able to get a job at these sites. His policy of stopping these projects will be detrimental to the employment landscape.
Both Briceño and Francis Fonseca on presenting their plan on education have also made it clear that in order for them to institute their vision of education, it would mean firing people. When questioned how the money would be attained, Fonseca unreservedly said that they would fire people. This means that the security of all employees in the Ministry of Education, including teachers will be at risk. They will fire teachers!
This week he made his rounds again on his appearance on Channel 5’s Open Your Eyes, he stated that he will put a stop to the construction of the Haulover Bridge. What kind of nincompoop can, for selfish reasons, put a stop to a project that will ensure that a major artery into the commercial center of the country is not done? That is beyond us. More than that, on his appearance on Channel 7’s newscast he stated that public officers will be fired.
So Briceño’s economic recovery plan is based on stopping all the work that is keeping Belizeans employed, firing teachers and public officers. Good look on getting elected on that platform!
