Was Senator Louis Wade wrong to stay behind during Tuesday’s Senate walkout? That question has been stirring public debate after Wade remained inside the National Assembly Chambers while other independent senators and opposition members walked out in protest of the BTL-Speednet buyout. Some critics have gone as far as calling him a sellout. But Wade says he stands by his decision. He argues that staying allowed him to take part in the vote on the Occupational Safety and Health Bill, a piece of legislation that has been waiting for years. Here is how he explains it.
Louis Wade
Louis Wade, Church Senator
“The OSH Bill had twenty-two amendments in the Senate and there are forty-six pending. So, I do not believe personally that walking out of a meeting where we represent not ourselves, but the people, would have been the best strategy yesterday. I believe that independent senators and the opposition has the right to use whatever strategy they believe is necessary to capture the attention of the Belizean people and government. However, I also believe I have the right to use whatever strategy I believe best that represents the church properly and can still get the same message across to the Belizean people that the BTL attempts to purchase Smart and recreating a monopoly are contrary to the wishes of the Belizean people and are also contrary to democracy, because it creates a monopoly. We have walked away from that and should never go back there. So I felt it necessary to speak, rather than to walk out.”
Chamber Backs Senate Walkout Over BTL-Speednet Deal
Church Senator Louis Wade has explained why he stayed put during Tuesday’s Senate walkout, but the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry is backing its business senator’s decision to leave. BCCI President Giacomo Sanchez says the proposed BTL-Speednet acquisition required immediate attention, and in his view, it outweighed Tuesday’s vote on the OSH Bill. After nearly two decades of delay, Sanchez argues, the Occupational Safety and Health Bill could have waited a little longer.
Giacomo Sanchez
Giacomo Sanchez, President, BCCI
“I think it was one of those response that had to be addressed on the fly, because you had some serious business being undertaken by the Senate and a walkout just suggest, or at least strikes to the heart of the opposition we have to this overall transaction.”
Paul Lopez
“It was done ahead of a vote on the OSH Bill. Do you weigh one against the other in terms of importance?”
Giacomo Sanchez
“I think because of the gravity of the BTL acquisition, it ranks a bit higher in priority in terms of importance, at least at this point. The OSH Bill has been around for so long, we have been on pause for a while. So, we can pick up the pieces on that and ensure we get a good piece of legislation coming out of it.”
The OSH Bill was eventually passed through the Senate without the votes of three independent senators and the three opposition senators that staged the walkout.
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