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Oil Moratorium Legislation Passes With Bi-partisan Support
posted (December 8, 2017)
We've already shown you a whole lot from Belmopan tonight - but we haven't even touched any of the House business. And that's because there wasn't much. The only bill of serious mention is the Moratorium on Offshore Oil Exploration known as the Petroleum Operations Bill, 2017. In a rare show of bi-partisanship, this one had PUP support. Opposition Leader John Briceno called it a people's victory :...

Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
"This is a victory of the people Madam Speaker, because it of what they say "people power" that today we are working on this bill that we hope will soon become an act and law of the land."

"Look at the Spanish Lookout oil field. What did we get? We got a little over 600 million dollars Madam Speaker. Oil done. Money done. And what do we have to show for it? Poverty didn't go down. We didn't say we give thousands of students scholarships out of the oil money, but the money gone, the money finished, the oil finished. The point I'm trying to make, we can't risk for a little bit of oil to do oil exploration into our waters, because when you look at the Belize Barrier Reef, in my mind, the Belize Barrier Reef gives us more than 600 million dollars every year."

And while the opposition leader showed general support, he also said the bill could go further in ensuring the broadest protection possible for the reef. And that's where the spirit of bi-partisanship walked out the door, and the good old name-calling stepped in:..

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"He did a nice piece of grandstanding just now, expect his slip is showing. If you want to get up and pontificate and crown yourself with all sorts of laurel wreaths and you do so by asserting that you are in fact more Catholic than the Pope. You should check and inform yourself before you shoot off your mouth. The whole idea of your presentation is to put yourself on the side of the angels, by saying first of all this has nothing in effect to do with the UDP, it's a people's victory. Good enough. But then to show how much you are a paladin of the people and therefore what has been achieve is not enough and more must be done. You talk about amendments that need to be made and almost every single amendment that you are urging on us has been made in the committee that consider the bill."

"It's here, it's among your papers sir."

Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
"I just got these papers right now, so how on earth, I just got it right now on my table. How can you expect me Madam Speaker to make the....."

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"I don't buy that for a minute. I'll have to check with the clerk."

Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
"See it right here."

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"In any event, you are the leader of the party. If you weren't there, your members were there. According to you, you are so centrally preoccupied with this matter. You mean they didn't voluntarily report to you, or you didn't seek to find out what has happened. I am sorry sir. Bottom line you look bad, you look terrible."

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