| Next month, on July 15th, all working Belizeans - and their employers - will start paying more into the Social Security fund. The government and social partner -approved increase is designed to prevent the impending collapse of the country's social security fund, which is operating at a burgeoning annual deficit.
Well, the PUP has had time to digest that news, and they say that the ruling UDP Government is to blame for the struggles that SSB is facing at this time.
In a press release from today, the Opposition Party starts throwing punches early when it says, quote, "The news that Belizeans will have to pay double to bail out Social Security because of UDP incompetence is an affront to every Belizean. Belizean employers and employees who have worked tirelessly to ensure that our social safety net, the SSB, is healthy and thriving, should be outraged at the news that this organization is on the brink of collapse. Likewise, we should all condemn the SSB Board for its clear political interference, manipulation and gross incompetence which are at the heart of SSB's financial woes."
And, the PUP goes even further to allege that they've come into possession of a "Cabinet paper", which, according to them, is entitled, "How the UDP can Leverage SSB's Sustainability to Gain Political Advantage."
According to the PUP, who have not provided a copy of this document to the press for verification, the author outlines how the UDP can spin the "near bankruptcy of the SSB" to gain political mileage when elections are called. Young allegedly provides detailed steps on how the UDP can "fool the Belizean people into thinking that the move to increase contributions is a good thing, compared to the fallout if the entity should collapse."
The PUP further alleges that Young's perspective is that the Barrow administration can turn the Social Security plight into a "win for the UDP".
And from there, the PUP press release goes on to point out that the Barrow Administration has far too much influence over the operation of SSB.
They say quote, "We have seen an entity totally infiltrated by the UDP, where the head of the Investment Committee is the Prime Minister's Financial Advisor. The Board of the SSB is stacked with UDP operatives, including the Prime Minister's son Anwar Barrow."
Their thorny press release ends by saying quote, "The PUP calls on the Government, and its cronies who control the SSB, to immediately desist from playing the dirtiest politics with the people's money." End quote.
So, since majority of the PUP's statement from today targets SSB's CEO, Dr. Colin Young, we contacted him this evening via telephone for a comment. He told us that he's seen the press release and the allegations being made against him, and he and the SSB intend to address those claims tomorrow. We'll be there to tell you what that response is.
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