Opposition Cries Foul as Mira Dismisses LIU Criticism

The fight over the fate of the LIU Employment Program is less about policy and more about accountability. Opposition voices are demanding answers and an apology. Queen Square Area Representative Godwin Haylock says the Briceño administration shortchanged Belize City by shutting down a program many residents depended on, arguing the government still owes the city a properly run LIU initiative. But the government isn’t backing down. Home Affairs Minister Oscar Mira is flatly rejecting the criticism, accusing the opposition of twisting the facts and dismissing their narrative outright. What started as a debate over a jobs program has quickly turned into a war of words over who’s really telling the truth and who’s responsible for what comes next.

 

Godwin Haylock, Area Representative, Queen Square

“ This PUP government owes an apology to all of the youths in Belize City that they did this to. More than that, this PUP government owes this nation a successful LIU program. It is very critical that in Belize City we implement a successful LIU program. Instead of relying on police arrest and police enforcement. We saw the LIU program rise in 2020 when the government got in. It brought new strategy. It attempted to address gang violence and crime in a new way. I think past minister from Caribbean Shores know that program very well. it would be interesting to hear his position on how they are pushing out the youths today. This is a program he has worked on for five years, not six months like the current minister.”

 

Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs

“It makes me wonder, what he is talking about because it is certainly you are not talking about what you mentioned a successful LIU. You are probably talking about LIE, a lie, because the LIU has not been stopped. That has not been stopped. The restructuring of the LIU is not focusing on the next generation of at risk youths.”

 

The program employed over five hundred Belize city residents.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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