Hundreds of “So-called” Workers Displaced as LIU Program Halted

A controversial government decision is leaving hundreds of Belizeans without work tonight and sparking a wider debate about crime and spending. The Leadership Intervention Unit has hit pause on its work program, affecting more than five hundred workers. But Prime Minister John Briceño is standing firm, arguing the initiative has become too costly with too little impact. He says government is spending millions each year on participants who, in some cases, still end up involved in criminal activity. Now, Briceño insists those funds could be better used to strengthen law enforcement, shifting resources from intervention to enforcement in the fight against crime. But is this the right move, or does it risk making matters worse?

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“What has happened is that it has come to our attention, I was certainly unaware, that we are still using millions to be able to pay individuals for them to live a better lifestyle. I think the LIU has had great success with mediation and intervention. But on the part where you start to, for want of a better word, reward people to behave and they do so for a few weeks and then go and do something else, it is not working. We need that money and could put that money to better use. So, the CEO made the point that those funds that were given to individuals, it was never intended to be long term. It should have been for two to three months, but it ends up being for long term. So, I think that money could be used to equip the police. The police do not have enough equipment when they are fighting some of these same gang members or going after people involved in drugs or rob somebody or whatever. We have the police officers in many instance putting themselves on the line because they don’t have the tools to protect themselves and you and all of us as citizens.”

 

Reporter

“This might have major effects on Belize City, not only the livelihood of these persons, but also the crime rate. Is this a concern for your government?”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Certainly not, because it was never intended for them to stay there permanently. It is a lot of money.”

 

“LIU Not a Job”: Mira Explains Pause on Leadership Intervention Unit

 

Government has paused the Leadership Intervention Unit program to review its impact, amid concerns some participants were being paid without working and others are now detained under the State of Emergency. Minister Oscar Mira says it’s time to reassess the initiative and refocus efforts on better supporting at-risk youth.

 

Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs

“It’s my duty to ensure that we have accountability, that we get the results that we want. It cannot be that we just be spending taxpayers’ money without any accountability, without any results, positive results, and that is what I want. I have given my ministry and the police department a task to ensure that we get results. We have not stopped it. It is going to happen. It is part of our crime-fighting strategy. It is also very much needed. But I think that what we did not do ten, fifteen years ago, we can’t start it now. We need to work with the younger generation, those that have not yet been fully integrated into the gangs. Give them an opportunity. We wanna start there. Give an opportunity for them to do something better for their lives. Give an opportunity for education. Give an opportunity to learn a trade so that they can look after themselves. The LIU, in my mind, is not a job. The LIU, in my mind, is not a program that will sustain you for the rest of your life, but it is a way to move forward. It’s a way for you to find something meaningful and for you to find something that will give you what you need to survive. I don’t believe that the program was giving the youths that, and I think that this is a time now to pause, to restructure, and to re-strategize the LIU. It is a good program. I fully support the program, but we have to do things different. We cannot do the same thing and expect that results will be different. That doesn’t work that way, and I wanna make sure that we get from the LIU what it has envisioned to get, and that is to remove the youths from that gang violence that is plaguing parts of the city.”

 

Mira added that he believes the estimation that over five hundred people were employed by LIU is not an accurate number.

 

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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