7 News Belize

COLA Will Protest on Saturday
posted (January 27, 2010)

“Enough is enough” that will be the general sentiment expressed during a protest march planned for this weekend by COLA – the Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action. The group has organized the peaceful march and rally to speak out against what they say is government’s lack of political will to do anything to address the issues they say are contributing to poverty and crime. Recent statistics reveal that the poverty rate now stands at 43%. Today COLA’s President Moses Sulph says when Belizeans went to the polls in 2008, they voted for a change for the better that was almost two years ago yet people continue to suffer.

Moses Sulph, COLA – President
“Poverty as you may know is really rampant in this country, crime, the issue of cost of living, the issue of healthcare, the issue of the educational system, the issue of offshore drilling, issue of the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, the issue of the Colombia Forest Reserve – those are the issues that are affecting us overall and we could go on and on but the most important one that we believe needs to be dealt with is regards to the oil, our borders, poverty, crime, and cost of living.

It is not a march against the government. It is a march for Belize. It is a march for those who are elected to do what they are supposed to do and what they had promised this nation to do. So it is a wakeup call for you.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
“And clearly nothing is being done because it is really staggering when you hear that just over forty percent of our people are living in poverty.”

Moses Sulph,
“This is unacceptable. If we were benefiting more from the oil then we would not have had the poverty rate we does have and the crime rate we believe, as you may know, poverty has increased dramatically over the last ten years so has the crime rate. So it would be safe for me to say that poverty drives crime, regardless of how you want to look at it or not.”

COLA’s march gets underway at ten on Saturday morning from the Constitution Park. From there the march makes its way onto Woods Street, Vernon Street and over the Bel-China Bridge. From there it turns right onto North Front Street over the Belize City Swing Bridge onto Albert Street and ends at the Battlefield Park where a rally will be held.

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