7 News Belize

Faber Explains 19th. Absence
posted (November 21, 2017)
Earlier in the news, we showed you our interview with Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber he spoke about his recent airplane mishap.

Well, he said that his brush with danger caused him to decide to take a weekend off from his responsibilities as the Acting Prime Minister. That included his involvement at the official ceremonies in Dangriga for Garifuna Settlement Day.

The Prime Minister went there in a dashiki last year, so Faber's absence was surely noticed - and the Opposition made sure to pounce on it in their social media outlets.

When the press asked him about it, he said that he meant no offense:

Hon. Patrick Faber, Deputy Prime Minister
"After the ordeal on Friday I made a decision that I was going to just relax for the weekend. I think that is fair. I don't think anybody can quarrel with that. I was not certain that I was on the agenda in the manner in which it turn out that I was. I thought that there was some miscommunication initially because I was acting PM that they had expected the Prime Minister to be there. But when I verified with the Prime Minister today he said no, he had intended to be at the Belize City one, but as you all may know by now he had an emergency family situation and he had to leave and he made his apologies."

"So I really thought when I went to Hopkins, I didn't stay in Dangriga. I did go to Dangriga on Saturday and Sunday evening, but it was just to observe what was going on basically. I was not hiding from anybody or hiding from my duties as the Opposition has put it on their Facebook page and so on. I think it's just cheap theatrics on the part of the Opposition to try to paint me as somebody who is disrespecting the Garifuna people."

"Listen, everybody who knows me and checks my record will see that I embrace all the cultures in this country. But the people of the south know. I don't only go to Dangriga or to Punta Gorda when it is that they are celebrating the 19th November. I am a regular at all of these events. The National Garifuna Council and the branches of the Garifuna Council in Belize City, in Belmopan - everywhere else that you check will tell you that we support their events. I personally support their events."

"In fact you know in Belize City where my constituency is, every year for the last 13 years we have celebrated Garifuna Settlement Day in a street bram right in front of my office. We recently went through that."

"If I was not the kind of person who embrace the Garifuna culture and all other cultures in this country I would never do something like that."

"I had no idea that that would was what was being expected on the time and if that became a problem for some people, then I am sorry that they saw it that way. But it is out of no disrespect."

As the story goes, Faber's inter-party rival and Dangriga Area Representative Frank Pawpa Mena had to step in and officiate for the Deputy.

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