Public Pressure Forces Thirteenth Amendment Withdrawal

The proposed Thirteenth Amendment certainly stirred the pot nationwide. From town halls to public forums, many Belizeans made it clear they weren’t convinced. Critics from across society argued the amendment missed the mark, saying it didn’t tackle the real roots of crime and instead raised serious concerns about civil liberties. One of the strongest voices pushing back was the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, the NTUCB, which repeatedly warned that the proposal would end up hurting everyday citizens rather than making communities safer. And tonight, there’s a major development. The NTUCB has confirmed to News Five that the government has now, essentially, scrapped the Thirteenth Amendment.

 

Ella Waight, President, NTUCB

“The Thirteenth Amendment, another grave concern for NTUCB and its workers. We have legal minded persons in the NTUCB and they along with the Senator in NTCUB brought this issue up and brought it to our members. The concern is that we did not see it fixing or being a fix to the solution of crime, especially in Belize City. To us, it will just be a detriment to regular citizens. So the concern was brought up to the prime minister and I will read what he said, “it will no longer be achieved as an amendment to the constitution, but instead the changes will be made to the criminal code that will require SOES to be approved through the National Security Council”. That is more progressive, it is more inclusive of ensuring the matter is addressed the way it should be addressed. Regular citizens should not be caught up with these SOEs when you are conducting tour day to day business.”