Email

Print

So, the original Superbond and now Superbond 2.0 is kind of cleaning up the mess made during the PUP's terms in office - and maybe that's why when we spoke to Fonseca today he was circumspect about the missed Superbond payment - but still demanded consultation:..

Hon. Francis Fonseca, Leader of the Opposition
"We have not been consulted at all on this matter. We have not been briefed at all on this matter as the 14 elected members of the opposition. As the leader of the opposition I have heard absolutely nothing from the Prime Minister or from anybody in the government on this matter. We have received no official briefing. What we know is what we heard from you on the television news or what we gather from the internet from the Central Bank website and that kind of thing."

"We are very concern obviously. We want to be responsible about this matter because we know that what we say can have consequences. So we want to be responsible and that is why we have asked for information and a proper briefing which has not been forthcoming."

Jules Vasquez
"However I read in a recent PUP release that you all essentially support the re-structuring effort."

Hon. Francis Fonseca, Leader of the Opposition
"We said that we want it to be successful. Obviously during the election campaign we talked about our different approach to governing and dealing with the problems facing the economy. But the elections are over, the government has made a decision to pursue a re-structuring of the bond and we certainly as a responsible opposition and as Belizeans - we want to see that succeed."

We also asked Fonseca about the recent resolution passed unanimously by his party's executive. That resolution - which was not announced to the public - makes it so that the leader cannot be challenged until after the next general election. It is unprecedented in the PUP's long history - and Fonseca explained the reasoning behind it:

Jules Vasquez
"For the next four and a half years no one will be able to challenge you for leadership. Why was this decision taken and how do you answer the criticism that it's inherently ant ethical to the groundings of a democratic party?"

Hon. Francis Fonseca, Leader of the Opposition
"It's not a suspension of the constitution. The constitution allows the national executive of the party to make decisions that the executive deems in the best interest of the party and that is how we arrive at that decision. It was not a decision that I made. It was a decision that the leaders of the party together came together and believe that it was important to provide stability for the party. We do not believe that it is undemocratic. We believe it is the right decision at this time and in the best interest of the party."

Jules Vasquez
"Sir, but there has to be a reason why in the 40 years from 1956 - 1996 of leading the PUP Mr. Price never did it, From 1996 - 2009 Mr. Musa never did it."

Hon. Francis Fonseca, Leader of the Opposition
"Never did what?"

Jules Vasquez
"They never suspended challenges on the leadership. The party is built on the principle that any person can be leader of the PUP."

Hon. Francis Fonseca, Leader of the Opposition
"No, we haven't suspended - what we have said is that in the interest of stability of the party and please we can go back - there are many decisions of the national executive. Records will show that at many times during the history of the People's United Party the national executive has intervene to ensure the stability of the party to ensure that certain decisions and a certain path was pursued in the work of the party. That is what we have done here."

Jules Vasquez
"However any leader who does not have the face of challenge - it encourages in them sloveness. It encourages in them inaction. They know that they can't be challenge so they don't have to perform."

Hon. Francis Fonseca, Leader of the Opposition
"Absolutely not, I think we are getting into internal party affairs which I know is a big issue for some in Belize in the media but let me say that the discussion that we had at the national executive level when we tabled this matter, we dealt with that very important issue. You're right, that can be one of the consequences. But we made it very clear that we are doing this because we need to be a more aggressive, a more forceful, a more effective opposition. So there is no chance of that happening."

Jules Vasquez
"Should we be concern about the fact that A; you're leadership is not open for challenge and then B; you appear on a talk show and you don't take any call in questions."

Hon. Francis Fonseca, Leader of the Opposition "That was not our decision. I was quite surprise - in fact the host of the show indicated to us that there would be a call in segment. We were quite prepared to take calls. That was not our decision Jules."

The producers of the show explained that they made the decision to have questions sent in by text messaging, not by phone calls.