In Tuesday’s newscast, Channel 7 reported that it is likely that the new chairman of Belize Water Services Limited (BWSL), will be Marconi Leal Sr. Leal is one of the PUP Area representative, who had been shared out in the slicing of the cabinet portfolio pie by the Prime Minister. He became something like a political dangling modifier. Well, it seems that every PUP honcho has to win and now he is being given the chairman of the water company. The position comes with some great financial perks and not to mention vehicle and fuel allowances.
And while it is good to be rewarding the victors, the truth of the matter is that there is a great level of political incest being committed. Leal’s son, his junior, is actually the CEO in the ministry that would regulate the water company. The question is this: how would these two interact with each other given that on one hand, at the utility, you have the father and on the other hand at the regulator, you have the son?
This kind of nepotistic, incestuous appointment is something that the former UDP government would not countenance. We can point to two instances where Frank ‘Papa’ Mena was appointed as a director to BWSL but as soon as he became an area representative he was removed. The same applied to Elodio Aragon Jr., who had been appointed to the Airport Authority but as soon as he became an Area Representative he was also removed.
Here now, you have an area representative, who is being formally endorsed to double dip out of the coffers of Government and the Prime Minister is actually condoning this. Belizeans voted for better, but it seems it is quite the opposite; we are only getting worse.
