Tensions rise inside the UDP – John Saldivar argues for ‘Papa’ Mena to stay

By BBN Staff: Today, John Saldivar issued a statement endorsing his colleague Frank ‘Papa’ Mena as area representative for Dangriga.

This comes on the heels of a letter made public in which Mena’s Dangriga executive committee has written to the new Party Leader elect, Patrick Faber requesting for a new leader for their division.

The executive said that Mena had lost too much ground and would not be able to recuperate it.

Saldivar today said that Mena has a purpose. According to Saldivar, the demands on representatives are enormous and often times the resources afforded by government are insufficient.

“It is easy for constituents to become disgruntled by this obvious mismatch between demands and resources to satisfy those demands. Part of the problem for many of us representatives like Papa Mena who lead heavily populated constituencies is the manner in which resources are allocated by constituency. There is an urgent need to overhaul this system as it is dooming some of our best and well-intending leaders to failure. Unlike the formula for municipal subventions which factors in the population of the town or city and results in Belize City, the most populated municipality, receiving proportionately more, constituencies do not receive similar treatment,” Saldivar said.

Saldivar spoke about the inequitable distribution of resources among constituencies.

“The people do not want to hear that you do not have. The people expect you to have. Then, ironically, when we find a representative that is resourceful in identifying other sources to help his constituency, that representative is turned into a villain for the unforeseeable acts of those from whom this much needed help has come. We are caught between the rock and a very hard place, and so I understand the unwillingness of my brethren to subject himself and his family to the vile attacks and the venom that results from this inability to fulfill all that is demanded of him. Yet, the much quoted saying is apt…all that is needed for the forces of evil to take over is for good people to do nothing,” Saldivar added.

Saldivar further commented that Mena has been a part of the struggle to right what is wrong with the system and to fix the inequities and the injustices.

Saldivar says that Mena has been a rock for the movement and encouraged him to not allow ‘slings’ and ‘arrows’ to deter the mission.

“Papa, you have a purpose. Stay!!!” he ended.

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