B.S.C.F.A. Says Prime Minister Making “Petty Excuses”

The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association is accusing Prime Minister John Briceño of lying to them. On January fourth, the association entered into a written agreement with the Prime Minister that brought an end to protests organized by cane farmers in Orange Walk. In the agreement, Prime Minister Briceño committed that a commission of inquiry would be established within three months of the signing of the agreement. Well, more than seventy days have passed, and that commission is yet to be operationalized. B.S.C.F.A. demanded that the commission be established to investigate the inner workings of the industry and to provide recommendations for its modernization. When reporters asked the Prime Minister about the delays, he noted that consultations need to be held with the other three associations, before the commission can commence its work. This prompted a press release from B.S.C.F.A. calling on PM Briceño to, ‘stay on track’.  And today, the association called a press conference at their headquarters to say that the prime minister is making petty excuses.

 

Alfredo Ortega, Vice-Chairman, B.S.C.F.A.

“We are very upset with his comments, his interview, the words that he used, because if you can recall in January fourth when we were in negotiations with BSI when he was one of the main characters in the negotiations between us and BSI, he signed a document with us in which he committed himself, he committed his government that within thirty days, after the signature of the fourth of January, that the commission of inquiry would be starting their work. And, we have the document that he signed. So, he is not knowledgeable to what he said. He knows very well. Now he comes out to say proper consultation was not done. Consultations was done long before. Consultations was done from July of last year. Even in the document he says that Cabinet has already approved for the commission of inquiry to do their work.”

 

Javier Keme, Chairman, B.S.C.F.A. Finance Committee

“Two associations chose to participate, which was the Northern Association and BSCFA and Progressive and BSI chose not to participate. They were invited several times to participate in meetings, discussing the terms of reference of the commission of inquiry, consultations, and invitation to participate. They chose not to participate. That was their choice. Now their was an event that went further. During the negotiations for the commercial agreement, it came out that BSI is ok with the commission of inquiry provided that they are given the opportunity to name two commissioners. How will he say that these entities were not consulted and he is accepting himself that BSI has named two commissioners to form part of the commission group. This is absorbing the way he put his statements. These are petty excuses. And i want to highlight this as well, that in disrespecting the cane farmers, he disrespected a team that he authorized to work on this commission of inquiry terms of reference. He was the one that authorized this work to start from the beginning. And in his statement he disrespected them that they didn’t do the job he told them to do.”