7 News Belize

Early Christmas Gift for PM Barrow from Boots Martinez
posted (December 9, 2009)

If you’ve been on the north side recently you’ve probably seen the street cleaners in bright green vests. They informally call themselves the Keep Belize Clean crew – a group of about 150 workers deployed by the Ministry of Works to fill in where the sanitation company falls short but more importantly to give work to these persons who lack employable skills. They are part of a Ministry of Works project which also hires about 200 at risk youths with the CYDP programmes.

It’s all about creating work for those don’t have. And while the labour is far from glamorous, it’s honest and it pays. So today, they sort of celebrated for no particular reason other than to give three cheers to the Prime Minister and also to use soft power to get him to agree to continue funding the programme. 7News was at the ceremony.

Jules Vasquez Reporting,
With rakes in the rows and brooms along the wall – sanitation workers in their distinctive reflective vests crowded into the King’s Room at the Princess Hotel. Equipment in hand, it looked like just another day of work for these 350 workers but it was not another day at work a celebration and a clever public relation coup by the Minister of Works.

You see all these workers are employed by the Ministry of Works as part of either the CYDP project to put at risk youths to work or the Ministry of Works Belize City Rejuvenation Project. So this was no rent a crowd, these are workers employed for a time by the Ministry of Works. It is as Boots Martinez says their employment has had a meaningful effect on crime in Belize.

Hon. Anthony Boots Martinez, Minister of Works
“Under these various programmes, the crime rate has gone down. That doesn’t say that you won’t have criminal criminals. If you see here today the type of opportunity we create for marginal people who are here today. As the media you can see the people are here today. So like anything else that we believe, that I believe that the sort of employment that we have created for the less fortunate people has made an impact.

Probably maybe without a problem like this we would have eight to ten killings a day. We would never know but I am saying that as the Minister I am cognizant of certain realties and what is real. And some of these people that are here today are just people that just started to turn employable. A lot of these people who are working with the Ministries under these social programmes were not employable people; employable people in the sense that they had no skills and apart from that also too, employable that they won’t get any opportunities.

I would say 95% of the people in this program are people that have police records and you know that is one of the first things people will ask for or people who do not have any formal education but we are saying bring the respect and the will to work and we will give you opportunity.”

And it’s an opportunity these workers have seized upon. Edward Broaster heads the CYDP component of the programme.

Edward Broaster, CYDP Director
“Eventually they start caring. They start getting that dignity and that pride restored in them, that civic pride. When we asked them to clean the drain, they asked for brooms to clean the streets because they said they can’t just clean the drains and leave the streets dirty because it would appear they didn’t do their job well. And that for me was very significant to hear our young people willing to do their job and doing properly and effectively and efficiently.”

And beyond the work ethic, Prime Minister Barrow was overwhelmed by the symbolism.

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
“I want you to listen to me carefully and I am going to say it very slowly so nobody misses a word of what I say: this has been without a doubt the best Christmas gift I have ever received in my entire life.”

And while the feel good sentiment was contagious and it earned the PM more than a few hearty greetings, the practical aspect of the programme is another issue and all this goodwill can disappear very quickly when funds dry up. This programme ends in March – will it continue.

Edward Broaster,
“While some of you are asking about bonus, my priority is looking at extending the project than looking at bonus because long term employment will be beneficial to all of you.”

Hon. Dean Barrow,
“Our first duty remains now and forever to the poor people of this country. Now I can’t promise no bonus, I can promise my personal contribution to the Christmas party. And that personal contribution, I am not talking about $200 or $300 or $500 – I will make a substantial contribution. But what I want to tell you is this: those that spoke before, that said that the concentration must be on how we can continue this program spoke God’s own truth.

The $5 million has gone, is going a long way but it will come to an end and the trick will be how we can move forward and not completely lose the momentum. And I want to say to you, just between me and you, and the Cabinet people need fi stop up them ears because I dun see where I could find a lil money but I don’t want them to know because you know they will come beg for something. But I done know where I will get a lil money from to continue this program after the $5 million would have been spent. I can’t tell you that I could find a next $5 million but I will…..somebody said start with $1 million….hold me to that.”

Hon. Anthony Boots Martinez,
“It is a joy to me to know that all the programs and plans are in place so that when payday comes on Friday, everybody are been paid.”

And as long as they keep getting paid, this goodwill and the suppressions of social problems should continue – where government will run into trouble is keeping the money coming in a time of negative growth.

And while we focused don the symbolic, social and administrative aspects of the programme, the highlight were a bunch of cash donation by Port Loyola Housing for the Poor programme to Helpage Belize which got three thousand, the Salvation Army Toy Drive which got $10,500 and $2,000 for Dorothy Menzies Child Care.

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