Changes to Belizean Constitution Not Received Well; Recent Oil Find Prompts Heated Discussion by Citizens

Last night, I learned never to arrive at a government meeting on time. The meeting was scheduled for 6p at the Dangriga Town Hall, however, it did not start til 6:45p. The meeting was meant to be a "public consultation" on behalf of the government (required by law whenever any type of proposed change is to be made to the Belizean Constitution). Long before 7p this public consultation quickly turned into a "public confrontation". I attended for Attorney Moore as the petroleum issue could effect land rights vested currently in her clients, the indigenous Mayan community in the southern Toledo District of Belize.

A little background before going further: The PUP (People's United Party) governed Belize for the past 10 years. The UDP (United Democratic Party), in February 2008, won big over the PUP's on a message of "Change". People felt disenfranchised by the PUP's. They felt corruption had overtaken the PUP leaders and that a few leaders at the top were benefitting while the people suffered.

The newly-elected Ministers of the UDP Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Reps came to Dangriga to explain the proposed Constitutional changes. They hoped for good response. They were met by about 90 citizens who were wholly opposed to a major proposed change. In all, there were 22 changes being proposed. Only 1 was discussed (and with intensity) during the two and a half hours I stayed. Some of the changes being requested by the new goverment included;

• Enabling Senate to conduct public inquiries into mismanagment or corruption by govt
• Provide for the recall of elected reps before the expiry of their normal term in cases of corruption
• A three term limit for holders of the office of Prime Minister
• Include Belize Natl Coast Guard in the definition of 'security services'......and so on

However, in the middle of all these innocuous items was one that became the whole topic of the night....a provision to the Constitution that would vest ALL PROPERTY RIGHTS in PETROLEUM and MINERALS in the Government of Belize ALONE. The explanation given by the Ministers was that the proposed change is as clear as read....."All petroleum and minerals belong to the government, which in turn, the government is the people and therefore the people benefit. So you the people, not any one individual property owner, will profit." In the midst of this somewhat idealistic explanation, there were hard to ignore grunts and diplomatically held back murmurs that were not withheld when the microphone was finally opened for questioning.

In addition, that amendment also states that not only do land owners have no right to benefit from petroleums/minerals, but that no citizen can sue the government over any matter concerning petroleum or minerals. One of the ministers asked, "Can't we all agree that the petroleum and minerals found on Belizean land should be for the Government and People of Belize? If we all believe this, then why would we want to challenge it in court?"

I could be absolutely wrong, but I got a sense as the evening wore on that if a citizen/land owner disagreed with this passionate, patriotic argument the Ministers were trying (but failed) to make, the people would be considered "unpatriotic."

The government attorneys on hand tried to clarify as the crowd became more and more disenchanted. "Maybe it would be helpful for us to remember that the Petroleum Act of 2000 provides a 5% royalty to landowners on petroleum found. So there will be some compensation according to the Petroleum Act." A male audience member stood to respond, "Doesn't the Constitution trump any law that contravenes it?" The attorney hesitantly replied, "that is correct sir." The man said, "then if the Constitution says that ALL petroleum belongs ONLY to the government and that I can't sue over it, then wouldn't that clearly indicate that the Petroleum Act would be null & void." No follow-up response came from the Government attorneys.

The real argument made by the people last nite was "Equitable distribution of benefits for land owners derived from oil production." Although the discussion was heated, I saw democracy in progress! The people here are no longer willing to be complacent and just accept whatever party leaders tell them. They asked the hard questions. They did it with respect and dignity, although you could clearly tell they were heavily steamed. The thing that disappointed me was how the government leaders seemed to try to dictate to the audience how they should perceive the issue and demoralized dissenters by saying "Maybe you don't understand" or "there are people here tonight that are misinformed and will try to convince you against these proposals".

A female audience member stated, "how can you expect us to rubber stamp your proposal when you have attached 22 changes in one big Whop and did not provide enough time for the public to educate ourselves on how these changes will effect us individually or as a country. There was not even a notice in the paper about this meeting. We had to hear word of mouth." An elderly gentleman stood at the microphone to say that it was very presumptuous on the part of the new government to assume that such changes to the Constitution could be railroaded through. He admonished the Ministers that the people are the one's who put them in power and that the people would never forget and would remember it five years from now when elections roll back around.

As I dismissed myself from the meeting, a bystander said to another attendee outside of the hall looking in.....This party of "Change" is pulling the same tricks as the old government, and they've only been in office four months."

However, in defense (but not necessarily support) of the government ....if I may, after researching a bit....in 2006 commercial oil was first discovered in Belize in the Spanish Lookout village. This was an amazing discovery in light of the fact that oil drilling has been occurring for decades in Belize by all the big boy foreign oil companies with no significant finds. As the Constitution and laws are now, foreign companies and the landowners are profiting big time, while the govt only gets a small cut for its people. The governments argument, although not made as eloquently or convincingly as one could imagine, is that foreigners and one or two families should not be the sole profiteers of Belize's natural minerals and oils. In fact, "the people" of Belize should benefit rather than 2 or 3 individuals. The landowners argument is "fine, let the government gain the majority of the profit to better infrastructure, provide health care and education to all..etc......but don't cut landowners, who have cared for the land for years, out altogether. Atleast ensure that the 5% royalty remains."