Belizeans “floundering” with staple shortages and hurt by higher cost of living, Leader of the Opposition answers State of the Nation address

Published by BBNTEAM at September 19, 2024

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Posted: Thursday, September 19, 2024. 9:42 am CST.

By Aaron Humes: Far from the rosy picture painted by Prime Minister John Briceño on Tuesday, Leader of the Opposition Moses “Shyne” Barrow says who feels it knows it – and Belizeans just aren’t feeling it.

“As we celebrate our glorious history, we must yield to our obligation to be mindful of the present State of our Nation which unfortunately is floundering,” Barrow said in opening his response from the United Democratic Party (UDP) headquarters in Belize City.

Citing Belizeans’ response to a Channel 5 News vox pop on Tuesday, Barrow argued that Belize has gone backward: “Do not tell the Nation you’ve created jobs when all you have done is benefit from the expansion of the BPO sector created under the UDP Government. In fact, this Briceño Government has taken away thousands of jobs by destroying Waterloo and Stakebank. Investors are fleeing and confidence is at an all-time low due to corruption. This is the State of the Nation. Do not tell Belizeans about a 3 [percent] unemployment rate when the poverty rate is 39 percent, when 130,000 Belizeans remain unemployed or under employed…..that is a Nation that is being failed by the State,” Barrow said.

Too many face a higher cost of living, still without valuable resources such as land, housing, health and education, while feeling less safe and more vulnerable.

Indeed, Barrow said, the only favored few seeing any progress are those benefiting from Smart, or Kenny Zheng, or Teichroeb and Sons, or Haisam Diab.

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