Today, the Senate met in Belmopan to discuss and debate a pair of megabucks infrastructure projects. That’s the Coastal Road loan and he Caracol road loan. Combined, the projects will cost close. To two hundred million dollars - and the reviews were mixed. Here, first, is the debate on the Coastal Road:…
Hon. Mark Lizarraga - Business Senator
"I will say that we support this project in principle. We believe that it is a good investment to have that road upgraded and paved."
Hon. Paul Thompson - Business Senator
"Why couldn't we invest these millions in job creation? What about Belizeans who need a home? What about education? Will the dropout rate decrease? Mr. President investing 125 million dollars on roads wil not give us new homes or new jobs and Mr. President the need for peace in our country. You UDPs have found a winning formula and it's a 6 step approach, 6 steps to this plan. You set an election date, you find a road to build, you procure an outrageous loan like the ones here, you select a crony contractor, you get monies from that crony contractor and now you have millions of dollars to buy our people in elections."
Hon. Aldo Salazar - UDP Senator
"Senator Thompson has said investing infrastructure does not alleviate poverty, that's what I understood him to be saying. Given the poverty situation, I would like to read if you would allow me from a recent ILO paper speaking about infrastructure development in Indonesia. It says, investing in infrastructure creates income opportunities and generates jobs, directly as employment can be created during the construction and maintenance of infrastructure by using labour based methods and increased use of local resources - labour and materials in addition will backward and forward linkages; further stimulating the local economy. Indirectly as the assets by themselves will be improve access to income and employment opportunities."
Hon. Godwin Hulse - Leader of Government Business
"This road will save users, especially commercial users 48 miles of travel on the return and if you're running any of those big container trucks like my boys, they burn 4 miles to the gallon, so you're saying 12 gallons every time and so when you hauling oranges and you hauling other stuff. So from just a commercial perspective getting down to Big Creek Port and hopefully soon to be resuscitated the Commerce Bight Port, is a tremendous project"
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