Posted: Tuesday, August 2, 2016. 10:55 a.m. CST.
By Richard Harrison: There are people in Belize who really believe they are rich.
Rolex, Hummer, Jaguars, BMW, million-dollar mansions, vacation condos, fancy yachts, golf clubs, first-class frequent-flier, you name it…they have it all.
Get into an accident on one of our highways and “bam”, they’re poor just like the rest of us; no helicopter air-lift to get them to an operating room fast enough.
Get a little chest pain early in the “madrugada” and again, the big one carry them home, just like the rest of us, nobody to answer the 911 call.
Be in the wrong place at the wrong time at a popular night spot, stray bullets start to fly; they are poor just like the rest of us; no-one sees anything, no-one does anything, just one more dead dog.
I don’t want to dwell on these scenarios, for they are too many.
One would think that people with this kind of financial wealth would appreciate life more. That they would do things to ensure that their life was optimally free from risks, so that they could enjoy their “hard earned” wealth with a better quality of life.
The fact is, easy come, easy goes and this is a natural rule; it is not a man-made rule. Man cannot change this rule. People that get things easy, served to them out of the proverbial silver spoon will never appreciate it as much as persons that toil very hard and long.
This is the reason why the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) and its support emergency services are in the shambles that they are because our bourgeoisie are really poor people, poor in their understanding. They do not realize that if they demand and supervise that the basic emergency and health services for the poor is improved that it might just serve her one of these fine days.
Clean up the corruption. Put qualified, ethical people with established track records in the key positions. Set minimum standards of acceptable performance, ensure they have the basic infrastructure, equipment, materials and supplies to work with, perform periodic independent performance evaluations and in short order, the problem will be fixed.
“Play with puppy, puppy lick u mouth,” as the saying goes. Mix up yourself with the corrupt (or share in his spoils) and you can’t bite a crumb out of corruption. With the same amount of money we are spending we could have the best emergency and health care system for all 350,000 people in the country if only the bourgeoisie were not so poor in understanding and demanded the necessary changes on behalf of the plebiscite.
This is the reason why the safety and security apparatus is in shambles, because our bourgeoisie are really poor people; poor in self-esteem. They sit in their dark offices and (illegally) dark-tinted cars and plot and supervise minions doing the sleaziest things imaginable, to make their easy money. They need this apparatus to be weak and unresponsive, because they need to upgrade their Rolex, yachts and other fancy cars. And the only way they can do that, is by getting their inventory past low-paid, under-equipped safety and security personnel.
They prefer to keep their own safety and security networks or die like dogs in the street when the mermaid sings. With a generous increase in visionary leadership, salaries, benefits, training and motivation, all 350,000 of us could have the best safety and security services available to mankind, if our bourgeoisie were not so poor and demanded changes in the leadership and budgets, on behalf of the proletariat.
This is the reason why the public schools are in the mess they are in, because our bourgeoisie are really poor people; poor in moral values. They calculate that by separating their kids into exclusive private schools and “sending them away”, that the rest of our kids don’t want or need any better. They dump all our kids into one “crocos beg”, good potato and rotten potato all into one bag. The result? In short order, all rotten potatoes.
What they dont realize is that by night, their kids mix with our kids at Koshens, pull on the same hookah, pass out in the same sofa and puke in the same toilet when they manage to wake up late afternoon. With better leadership, refined focus and direction, better and clearer rewards and punishment systems, and commitment to only pass those who truly pass, in short, better management, especially human resources management; all 350,000 of us can benefit from a stellar, high-performance education system that caters individually to children of all attitudes and aptitudes. If only our bourgeoisie were not so poor in spirit and demanded the changes required, on behalf of the ordinary “cruffy”.
The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not necessarily those of Breaking Belize News.
This article was written by Richard Harrison, Belizean investor in production and services businesses in Belize. He holds a Masters in Business Administration degree from Lancaster University.
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