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And it was a good one - nothing too feisty - but there was robust debate, particularly on the Petrocaribe spending between October and December. 44.7 million dollars has been approved for those three months - and the PUP called it vote buying - especially the over 4 million dollars spent on flood relief. Here's how the debate on that went:...

Rt. Hon. Said Musa, PUP Area Rep. Fort George
"In other words Mr. Speaker, that 44.7 million dollars was spent just prior to the elections. Between October and now. I note further Mr. Speaker that flood assistance, there are several items dealing with flood assistance. A total, if my math's serve me right of $4,378,000.00 spent on flood assistance. That an extraordinary figure Mr. Speaker. I supposed that explained why all this mattresses were circulating all over the place just before the election. Why refridges and stoves and plywood and everything else was circulating. Yes. Mr. Espejo was circulating those things as well in the Fort George division, but it didn't help him. In other words Mr. Speaker, the government is boasting that it bought the election. This is what they are doing today. It's boasting that they bought the election. And just look at how they treated the poor rural constituencies' man. Only $20,000 assistance for the small farmers. But 4.3 million for so called flood assistance."

Hon. Patrick Faber, Collet Area Representative
"The Collet constituency is one of the constituencies that was hardest hit by the flood and yes the people of that constituency received mattresses. In fact without the floods there is the need for that kind of assistance. The people of that constituency Mr. Speaker, received refrigerator and stoves. This was the kind of damage that really came from the flood. Well the people of this country is right - voted to support the Prime Minister and this government in its use of the Petrocaribe funds. If they did not agree Mr. Speaker we would be there and they would be here."

Hon. John Briceno, OW Central Area Rep.
"And of course if we had 44 million to spend Honorable member from Collet we would be sitting over that side. Trust me on that one. But for the minister of education to get up in the house and admit that they were buying votes by giving televisions and fridges and stoves and mattress and sand - that's exactly what happened Mr. Speaker."

Hon. Patrick Faber, Collet Area Representative
"Mr. Speaker on a point of order, he is imputing...."

Hon. Micheal Peyrefitte, Speaker of the House
"He never said that member, but proceed. You don't need to do that. Debate the thing man."

Hon. John Briceno, OW Central Area Rep.
"I grant you that he did not say "buy." but obviously if he is giving TV and fridges....listen to the recording. Anyway let us move on Mr. Speaker. $4,378,000.00 was spent on flood mitigation and yes there are people that meet - I am not disputing that. But what I am concern is how that money was shared. It was not shared equally. There were people in San Estevan that water got into their house. They didn't get help. They didn't get any fridge. They did get any stove. They didn't get any sand. They didn't get any mattress Mr. Speaker. Yes they need help. But there is also the rest of us that pay taxes man. This Petrocaribe money, we have to pay for it too. It's not only the people from Collet that will pay for it. We have to pay for it in Orange Walk Central. So my point here Mr. Speaker is that the money was not shared equally. It was sent in certain constituencies when other people that need did not get the help."

Hon. Mike Espat, Toledo East Area Rep.
"If we so care for the people in this country, only Belize City have people it seems to me and only Belize City have people that have need. It seems to me that the other side of this house do not understand how our people live in Toledo."

Hon. Micheal Finnegan, Mesopotamia Area Rep.
"And they made it clear that they don't want one cents from Petrocaribe. And you get up there and you are picking, Mr. Member from Orange Walk Central - get up and join us and get up and get your share of what is happening in Petrocaribe - get your share for your people. If you know that there was flooding and housing problem in San Estevan, get up and call the Prime Minister, get up and call me, I am the Minister of Housing and I am your friend."

Hon. Oscar Requena, Toledo West Area Rep.
"What we are asking for on this side and we have been on record Mr. Speaker is that we want equity. Equity in the distribution and the use of any funds that are allocated to government Mr. Speaker. I want to go on record there, if people in Belize City can received televisions, if they can received mattresses and refridges, what happen to the people of Toledo West? Mr. Speaker, I will go on record and I will stand up for my people any day because that is the inequity and the injustice that we have to fight and we continue to fight. How in the name of God's sake can the people of Belize City - we are not saying don't help them. But man reflect that assistance for our people in our constituency. Because people in Golden Stream, people in San Vicente, people in San Benito Poite are all the same Belizeans just like Queen Square, just like Mesopotamia, just like Collet and they deserve to be treated the same. It is all a hustle and this is the problem that I have. This the problem that the people of Toledo West, the people of the south have a problem with this government, because there is inequity, injustice, hustle and corruption on that side Mr. Speaker."

Hon. Wilfred Elrington, Pickstock Area Rep.
"But the truth is that 4 million dollars to spend on flood relief in Belize was a token some. Really it is only tokenism. People can't get. I go right now and people telling me, they say Mr. Elrington I am sleeping on the floor, my back is hurting me and I say the resources is finish. It was only a small amount that we got and if you divide 4 million by 60 - its only 66 dollars."

Hon. Jose Mai, OW South Area Rep.
"What I do not see Mr. Speaker is anything called drought assistance program. Like the member for Pickstock, he says he saw refrigerators and electrical appliances being damage and destroyed. Well member, I saw miles of corn being destroyed the drought - miles."

Hon. Kareem Musa, Caribbean Shores Area Rep.
"You all are the ones who politicize the petrocaribe funds. They went to your candidate in Caribbean Shores. The mattress didn't help him unfortunately. I hear he kept a couple for him to lay down on after he lose. So we are not objecting because we know that the people need those resources. What we are saying is that we need to remove the politics from how this money is spent."

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"In areas such as Fort George for example, the member won as he always does and he won by a fairly handsome majority. Not in the class of Queen Square - never were and never will be. But you continue to do well. As see you son, again, let me not go there, except that he also tried to make the point about monies being spent from the supplementary allocation - from the Petrocaribe fund to try to buy elections. Well in both your cases, you won. So you insult people when you suggest that they can be bought. That number one. But number 2, the fact that you both won demonstrates that there is no question of buying any election. After the floods, Belize City was clearly hardest hit. We had a press conference and we indicated, we make every effort to try to assist every flood victim countrywide and that's what's we did and you want to come here and quarrel. If we hadn't spent the money, you would have heard you failed to demonstrate leadership, commitment and compassion, because so many people were affected and you only spent a little bit of money. When we spend and fairly maleficently so that in fact we can keep faith with our promise - they say well you are abusing the money and you only spent in order to win elections. Come off of that man. The most money in Belize City was spent in the Lake Independence constituency, in terms of flood relief. We thought Lake Independence and Collet were hardest hit and so we spent the most money there and if the argument is that we did so in an effort to buy the people. I have already said, it is a silly argument and it clearly didn't work, because the new member for Lake Independence won handsomely."