Tracy Panton: “I’m Ready!”
Although Belize has never had a woman as leader of a major political party, the U.D.P’s former deputy leader, current Albert constituency Area Representative, Tracy Panton, has indicated that she is ready to take up the mantle of the party’s leadership. Panton said today that she is also ready to double up as the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. She told us that she has been observing the changes in her party over time and has been conditioning her mind to step up to the challenge.
Tracy Panton
Tracy Panton, Albert Area Representative
“IF we are to aspire to be the next government in 2025, it’s time for us to settle down, to focus, to do the work that is necessary to heal and rebuild this party from the ground up. All my life, you know, Marion, I’ve been in the business of building, right. I’ve spent thirty years of my life in building the tourism industry; I’ve been involved in investment; I’ve been involved in trade; I’ve been involved in looking at the eco-system, if you will, for entrepreneurship in this country. So I think I bring a lot of experience in that regard, how you work with all sorts of personality types, how you build consensus, how you become as inclusive as possible, because if we are to get the job done we will need all hands on deck.”
Marion Ali
“You told me that this is a steep road ahead for you. It’s the first (time) – if it should happen – that Belize would have a female leader of a major political party. What are the hurdles do you think you have to cross before you reach that goal?”
Tracy Panton
Tracy Panton
“Well as a colleague of mine said today, it’s a man’s world and it truly is. We have a patriarchal society and so even for the women to make it to the National Assembly, as a Member of Parliament is a steep hill. So, I don’t have any illusions that it’s going to be easy, but I think at some point in Belize’s development, we as women need to step up. It has not been accepted, even the great United States – how hard it is for a woman to take on leadership roles particularly in politics, so I know it would be a quantum leap for this country but I would say it would speak volumes as to the level of maturity of our political systems and also our population.”
