And while the City Council can’t seem to make any headway in
the standoff with BML –and the city’s cleanliness is suffering because
of it – they are getting big help on the north side. That’s because
the Ministry of Works and its Southside Rejuvenation Project have descended
on that area between Baymen Avenue and St. Thomas Street with a fury. 70 workers
with Ministry equipment are cutting grass, cleaning streets, scraping drains
and making clean this high property value area. We caught Works Minister Boots
Martinez cleaning out a drain himself and we asked what’s it all about.
Hon. Anthony Boots Martinez, Minister of Works
“What is happening here is we are cleaning up Belize City starting
with this area, a comprehensive cleaning which is cleaning the drains, chopping
the bushes, spot patching the streets. Tonight the Ministry of Works will be
out here spot patching all the holes on the streets starting here. It is a comprehensive
work we think the citizens of Belize City are well deserved under the City Rejuvenation
Project we are attacking it head first.”
Jules Vasquez,
“But it looks like you’re trying to take City Council’s job?
Even if they are not doing it is still their job.”
Hon. Anthony Boots Martinez,
“The residents of Belize City aren’t worrying about whose job
it is, the main objective is to get the job done and we believe that the city
is in a condition that we need to step in and give City Council a hand.”
Jules Vasquez,
“Why have you chosen to focus in this area? You could say these people
have concrete drains, they have sidewalks. Other areas in the city certainly
need more help with backed up drains than this area.”
Hon. Anthony Boots Martinez,
“Well I don’t know what you classified as more help. When you
look at what is coming out of those drains, in my view, those are years of neglect
and apart from that too we need to look on the real side too you find, and you
have to be honest, the people in this area are good taxpayers so you need to
come too from an economic base. Looking at the picture objectively we will be
cleaning the whole city but I think in real truth that it is a good economic
base for the council, both trade license and property tax will be coming hp
and I think the people deserve the services they rightfully paid for.”
Jules Vasquez,
“I know at this time or the impression I get from many higher ups in the
UDP is that they are no fans of Zenaida Moya and the distinct impression one
gets with the garbage crisis is that central government doesn’t want to
help because they don’t want Zenaida Moya to look good.”
Hon. Anthony Boots Martinez,
“No how you mean central government doesn’t want to help? In
other words what we are saying here I reject that completely. Apart from that
this is a project also working in coordination with Belize City Council. The
thing is that why central government don’t want to help, what would be
the reason. To start with, Belize City Council is unable to pay BML and Belize
Waste Control. That is not here nor there with us. The main thing is that the
residents of Belize City deserve the basic services and so whenever we want
to play politics and bury our head in the sand, that is another issue where
the people are suffering and we can reach out and help. This is the government’s
project in regards to the $5 million rejuvenation project which entails fixing
streets, cleaning drains, and sidewalks where it is necessary.”
The work in the area should continue for a concentrated 6 weeks –with
vigilance to continue after that.
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