1st published in the Independent Reformer:
Noh money deh, means we need some more money. It is said that money makes the world move. That’s is true… if we move it is because there is money. Mr. Jones said this past February, “Money answers all things.” Yet it is not the answer for all things; even in the good country of ours, called the Jewel, of riches untold.
Have you wondered where the phrase, “we live in a good country” came from? You may have to go back about 8 years in our financial history and drive from Belize City to Belmopan, and look carefully at every sign. Normally, the Government would help industries and thus promote development; and then wait for their tax money to come in. Somehow we got it the other way! Most of us Belizeans are waiting expectantly that Government hire us and give us jobs and even give us contracts. If the Government runs out of money, ideas and vision, like it has happened today, many would loose their jobs, contracts, their house, furniture, even friends and family.
Come to grips. The few of us that read newspapers or have gone through experiences know that we as a country owe a large amount of money. Some may think that it is the problem of the administrator that borrowed the money, but it so happens that it is our country, the jewel, that owes the money. It is you and I who will have to pay it back. You may say I have my own bills to pay! Which is true; but what you may not realize is that every time you pay light, water, phone, tax and fuel bills, you are paying our countries debts. Also, you are paying to run Government, like the offices, fuel and labor expenses; for the police force, for hospitals, and as of late even for a private hospital.
Many have heard about our country’s financial situation but have not listened carefully because we don’t understand it. Therefore, reality has not hit us. At the beginning of this year we heard we could borrow Five Hundred and Sixty million to pay all our outstanding bills. We went for it through the “Supa-bonds”! Later we find out there are more bills in the drawer. So we make a few smaller loans. This has many guessing how much we really owe. We can speculate that it is about 2 billion now, with interest maybe over 3 billion. How much is one billion? If we have never seen one hundred thousand, much less a million, then a billion is just unimaginable. But breaking it down, a billion is one thousand times a million.
You may think, why did we borrow so much, if the tax and revenues collected pays to run the country; beside we are getting so many millions from foreign organizations and missions as grant money. On top of all this we have sold off land properties every where (towns, cities and even islands).
A few years ago, we heard that we were financially strong and it made us feel good about our country and gave us a sense of security. But the problem is that from the time we heard that we were very strong financially and those from neighboring countries came and worked for us is something of the past. Things have changed! People went back to their countries and many Belizeans are left without jobs. What is worse is to hear that our government is broke. Noh money deh!
We have not heard any explanation as to what really happened. Well, really we have not asked for an explanation. What changed the story so suddenly? This is a question that should come to our minds. We should ask ourselves, what happened with so much money that came our way? Did we have it for a rainy day? Or when disaster strikes? You may ask who administers this money. Is it the National Assembly? Oh, well, is it the Minister of Finance? But it is one and the same person, the Prime Minister! Who should be held accountable for the finances? We should hold him accountable for the sake of our children and grandchildren to come. They will surely hold us accountable for not holding our government accountable.
Let us imagine. With a quarter of this money we can promote industries that will give Belizeans a job and increase in their wages. When money circulates and businesses increase, jobs and contracts also increase. This is done by investors and local entrepreneurs and producers; who in turn bring more development, so government gets more tax money. But if government raises taxes, businesses decrease.
Today, banks are not happy. About a year ago a banker commented, “our best customers are defaulting because business is down 50% and some have even closed down.” Our government development bank went down as well. The consequences are that many students will not be able to go to college this year because parents don’t have the money to send them. Many farmers will not even plant this year. Some fear that DFC will take away their land for what they owe. Some have sold their machinery to pay off the loan, to save the land. Others are leaving the country to follow a dream in foreign lands.
The dangers of a low economy! People say “laif haad out yah!” This means different things to different people. A slow economy creates negative things like an increase of arguments, fights, court cases, divorces, drugs dealings, theft, jealousy, animosity, and even murder. Many parents will have difficulties sending their children to school this year. Teachers are saying that when children come to school hungry they cannot learn. They even fall asleep in class, which is an effect of starvation. What can teachers do? They have orders to send children home if they cause too much trouble, or when they come without shoes or uniform.
The worst part of the “haad out yah” is that the parents are trying to stretch their “dalla” and trying to feed the children by buying foods at the Chinese store, the cheapest food in town, with long shelf life. The food is very low in nutrients. It fills the stomach but that’s about it. White flour, white sugar, white rice, instant coffee, ideals, soft drinks are “foods” that have no nutritional value. If children live on this for a while, parents will later have to buy back their health with medicines and vitamins, which is very costly and it hardly solves the problem. A social worker said that many children in the Cayo area have diabetes, some even at an early age of three years old. Those sicknesses used to be for old people only, but not any more.
Most Belizeans are not aware of living conditions in some areas. They don’t write to newspapers, neither do their neighbors. A PUP campaigner said, “I did not know that there are people within one mile from my house are eating only one meal a day”. He came upon this, because he went house-to-house campaigning; but never-the-less we live in a good country.
This instant cash and suffer later attitude will not take us where we want to go. When the cash is gone, suffering settles in. Some of our best Belizean people begin here and end up in foreign countries; most of them never come back to the good country. Minister Coye said “that is why we run short of nurses in Belize.” Many contracts are designed so that only foreigners qualify to get them. Our schools are not designed for a student to have the skills to assure him an immediate job after graduation. Many times a Minister will not hire a contractor from his own district. This game was played by the UDP and now by PUP. When the UDP government retrenched people just before Christmas many years ago to please some foreign masters, they still did not get the money to keep the economy going, and people starved just like today.
Mismanagement and ignorance are costly. It is as if a worker sells his shoes to buy food. How will he be able to work without shoes? This is what is happening with the multi-million dollars Social Security buildings. They spend so much money in the buildings and what about the people that put up the money to build them? No wonder if you are in an accident and you go to collect your “benefits” it is as if you did something wrong all those years you paid your money to the institution.
It seems that our government is happy with our economy. In January they were happy to negotiate the “supa-bond” which set all our bills at ease until 2029. What a relief! Then in May, they were happy that the Belize Bank had mercy over the 33 million over due bill. Then later in the same month, we hear the PM came from Taiwan. They were glad that they favored us with a loan again. In June 6th, PM came from Venezuela. He announced on Love FM that he was assured that our loan request with the CDB will go through and meet some very serious target. We learn now this is a monthly thing. The rest of us are eager to hear the rest of the story. If some crumbs will drop; if perhaps we will get a job again; or get a loan to start a business; or have the luxury to finish our house; or come to a moral level of making payments on our overdue bank loan payment bills; and for some at least pay the grocery bill.
Don’t tell me we are all under an illusion syndrome. Here is one way to check it out. Most people find out where they stand by visiting their neighbor. They either come back jealous of the better things and the life they have or thank God I am not in their shoes. Today, in our country the amount of people that come out of all corners to beg for food and medical help is tremendous. Some of course have spent their last dollar to the China man and lottery. Some just ran out of job and have a family to feed. Some are too under nourished to maintain their health anymore. Some go to the hospital and hear that we run out of medicine.
Richard Merrow on Love FM made a profound statement, “negative people are constantly looking at what others have and do; real winners have their eyes on what they are doing; but selfish and negative people cannot stand the success of others. And sometimes not even their own success. They think that the success of others is in the way of their success when it is just the opposite.”
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