The social assistance program is one of the expenses that the council reduced. While many of their supports won’t be happy about this, the PUP City council says they simply don’t have the money for hand-outs – and that is what they say the UDP council had been doing and labeling it social assistance. Wagner and his team says they will re-assess this expenditure and create lasting programs that can benefit more people.
Bernard Wagner - Mayor of Belize City
"Social assistance and contributions, we had to cut a bit but it's not something we intend to carry on but it will not be in this area. 423 thousand in social assistance and contributions, we cut that 140 thousand and we are still delivering to the people in our social assistance program. So we cut that by 67%, that is awesome."
Reporter
"The council has also spend significantly less on the social program. How will you respond to a critic saying, you’re not showing any love for the residences. That's the question."
Bernard Wagner
"You can't spend what you don't have. I am certain that will improve as the finances of the council improve but coming into office you have to understand we just didn't have the money and you can't spend what you don't have or else you will run yourself into problems. Good?"
Oscar Arnold - Deputy Mayor of Belize City
"If I can add on to that, the bulk of what was spent there was spent in the few months prior to election, so it wasn't as if though that social program was spread out over the year, so that was spent for a reason, an ends to justify their means and so that wasn't a realistic way of running any social program. We are revamping and we are looking at restarting the pantry program as well, where they will only select few people that were enjoying that pantry program and we wanted to be a little bit more far reaching, have more penetration within the areas that really need it and to residence who really need that service because when you have a social program and you don't hit the people who are marginal or at the bottom, then in my view you can't say that is a social program because all you're doing is gifting to party hacks and people who are loyal to your party."
Wagner says once they sort out their finances they will be looking at different social assistance programs.
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