Country report: Spotlight on Belize

Some basic facts

Joined Commonwealth: 1981
Capital: Belmopan
Population: 301,000 (2008)
GDP per capita growth: 2.4 per cent per annum (1990–2006)
Official language: English
Time: GMT minus 6 hours
Currency: Belizean dollar (Bz$)
Last election: February 2008
Next election: 2013
Head of State: HM Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General, Sir Colville Norbert Young Sr (1993–)
Head of Government: Prime Minister The Hon Dean Oliver Barrow
Ruling Party: United Democratic Party
Independence: 21 September 1981

What is the recent political history in Belize?

The 1993 election was won by the United Democratic Party (UDP) in coalition with the National Alliance for Belizean Rights, a new party which was formed after five members left the UDP in 1992 following disagreements over negotiations with Guatemala. Together they received 49 per cent of the votes, securing 16 of the 29 seats; the UDP’s Manuel Esquivel was now prime minister.

George Price of the defeated People’s United Party (PUP) announced his retirement in October 1996, and was replaced by Said Musa at the party convention in November 1996. In the general election in August 1998, the opposition PUP won a resounding victory and Said Musa became prime minister. With 59 per cent of the votes, the PUP took 26 of the 29 seats in the House of Representatives. With 39 per cent of the votes, the ruling UDP took only three seats and Esquivel handed over the party leadership to Dean Barrow.

For the first time since independence, the ruling party was returned to power in the March 2003 general election. The PUP, under Said Musa, took 22 seats to the UDP’s seven, with 53 per cent of the votes.

In January 2005, the government increased tax rates on commodities and property and riots broke out. Civil unrest continued until April with trade unions and government opponents demanding Musa’s resignation. This and allegations of corruption in the PUP government proved decisive in the subsequent elections.

The February 2008 general election resulted in a landslide victory for the opposition UDP, which won 25 seats to the ruling PUP’s six. UDP leader Barrow became the country’s first prime minister of African descent.

How does the Commonwealth Secretariat help Belize?

The following articles describe some of the Commonwealth’s projects, which aim to assist the Central American country:

• Internet pornography, hacking and fraud probed in Caribbean

Prosecutors and police across 15 countries receive Commonwealth-funded ‘high tech crime’ training

• Profile: Mark Bynoe, environmental economist

Commonwealth-funded expert is trying to unravel the escalating costs of climate change to the hurricane-prone Caribbean

• Profile: Dawn Quist, education expert

A former school teacher who for the last 15 years has worked as an education adviser for the Commonwealth talks about her work to improve teaching standards in Belize

• Human Resource managers trained in modern practices

Commonwealth workshop in Belize focuses on exposing public sector staff to the latest trends, practices and skills in management

Case study (2009): Commonwealth expert implements Civil Procedure Rules in Supreme Court

Justice Sir John Muria was appointed to the Supreme Court bench of Belize in January 2007, to help reduce the backlog of civil cases and help tackle the ever-increasing litigation faced by the country’s highest judicial authority.

The former Chief Justice of Solomon Islands was deployed to Belize City as a Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) expert. He is one of nine justices on the Supreme Court, and his duties involve hearing civil cases and helping to implement new Civil Procedure Rules to facilitate the resolution of cases expeditiously and justly. Sir John also works to build the capacity of Belize’s judiciary and enhance the administration of justice through the sharing of his skills, knowledge and experience.

Prior to his Belize assignment, Sir John served in Sierra Leone, West Africa, for three years, from December 2003 to November 2006. Here he helped to build the capacity of the judiciary, serving on the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Sir John explains that the challenges in Sierra Leone were greater than those he encounters in Belize, as the country had just emerged from an 11-year civil war.

The challenges of his Belize assignment, says Sir John, include being able to handle the large volume of cases brought before the court, and the flood of urgent applications that constantly occupy the Supreme Court’s time. In addition to this, he has to cope with limited resources and facilities. The Solomon Islander has helped to reduce the number of cases awaiting trial by hearing as many cases as possible, so enabling Belize’s 300,000 citizens to have greater access to justice. Cases include civil trials, interlocutory matters, bails, divorces, constitutional and judicial reviews, and land and estate matters.

Sir John feels he has been successful in ‘building capacity and confidence’ among the local members of the legal profession.

‘Through the CFTC, I am able to help make a difference through the sharing of skills, knowledge and experience with people, not only in the judiciary in Belize, but also through interaction with others,’ he says. ‘I believe in planting the seed, which others can help to water and make grow.’

For more information on Belize, click here.

Secretariat Links:

• Country Profile: Belize