AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Elections Mike Campbell runs under PNP banner

wouldn't call a few gringos on a message board, 1/2 that can't vote, a lot of support, but, good luck anyway.

entertaining though, for sure!

Hmm, that bird has seen better days. Not the best picture to put up for a future candidate I think. Should be noted that keeping an indigenous parrot without a licence in Belize is also against the law. This one appears to have foreign origins however.

Tina is a gold crowned conure from a small area in Brazil and this is the best she has looked. Not much is known about their habits but she acts like a ground bird, some what. She was abandoned twice and left once in customs for 6 months in a small box. When I got her she had been abandoned in an apartment where they had moved out and left her. She had been there 3 days before we got her out. I had known the bird for a while. She had never had any feathers except on her head where she could not bite them and pull them out. She is a product of inbreeding and maltreatment by unknowing but loving owners. She was originally purchased in a pet store in the US and brought here by someone...
Sheila in Corozal recommended the collar. Periodically I try her without it. She had never flown and only walked around on the floor before I got her. I have gotten her to fly a couple of times. Her outside cage is 6' high by 4'x12'. She comes in at night. Have finally gotten her where she will eat fruit and veggies. She remains a testament to man messing with nature and the horrors of the exotic pet trade.
I occasionally take in other wild birds knocked out of nests etc, get them healthy and then they fly loose in my house until they escape through the always open door. We have lots of parrots and all kinds of birds, sea birds and forest types, this year I have seen toucans on the coast and a pair of laughing falcons. Elbert has some great shots of the birds around here. Thanks for your interest in Tina, the exotic pet trade is a cruel and vicious business.
Never fear a new photo is coming and many thanks to Marty for posting this one. Elbert has volunteered to take a new one, might not be that much better though! The will also be a press release in the papers. Thanks Mike

Tina is a sweetheart. i love to play and chat with her. Mike is really good with animals. and birds. and beasts of all kinds. :>

ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN FOR SAN PEDRO AND CAYE CAULKER.
by Pnp Mike Campbell

CAMPBELL'S ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN

FOR SAN PEDRO

San Pedro Free Zone

Promotion of San Pedro and Caye Caulker as Green Tourism Destinations

Duty Concessions on Fuel for Tour Operators and Hotels

Proportional Sharing of Funds Between Constituencies and Creation of Northern Maritime District.

Basil Jones Community Development





The vibrant economy of San Pedro and Caye Caulker has allowed us all to prosper and grow. About 4 years ago our tourism/construction based economy started to decline until now we are seeing extremely low levels of economic activity. This wide spread decline is affecting most of our homes and businesses with no relief in sight except hopes for a good season in a few months. Resurrection of the growing economy we once enjoyed is of the highest priority for us. I have devised a plan that will restore our economy and put us on a path of sustainable economic development.

Considering the fickle nature of the tourism trade we have all long recognized the desirability of moving away from a 100% tourism economy. Now it is even more apparent that we must develop another cornerstone for our economy and work to rebuild the crumbing building that is our tourism industry.

Through my experience and research it has become apparent that if we can attract small industries and light manufacturing facilities that are environmentally friendly to locate in San Pedro we can make lots of jobs that are not tourism related and provide work for our construction industry. In order to attract these businesses which will all be export businesses we need to establish a Free Zone on the Island to facilitate these companies in producing goods for export.

Some examples would be jewelry manufacturing, boat building, furniture manufacturing and many others. High on this list should be Call Centers. Our population is better educated and has better skill levels than other parts of the country due to our extended international exposure and many could easily work in something besides tourism or construction. Manufacturing usually peaks during the months before Christmas hiring additional help. Of course that is the time of the year we need jobs badly as it is off-season for tourism every year. There are many who potentially would be interested in locating their businesses here if we give them the chance and take our community responsibilities seriously.

This plan can work and make an impact in within a year of inception. If you will elect me to serve you as Area Representative I will work diligently to see this Free zone established and populated with appropriate businesses.

The revival of our tourism industry is of primary importance. I firmly believe that San Pedro and Caye Caulker should be promoted separately from the rest of the country. Our brother Island communities are unique and very appealing to a lot of people. I believe the promotion of "Belize as a Brand" has failed to properly represent San Pedro and Caye Caulker as well as other destinations by placing us all under one BTB blanket when in fact we are all very unique and offer widely varied experiences to the vacationing tourist.

We can enhance our attractiveness and uniqueness by becoming as much as possible "green destinations". All our environmental protocols need to be enhanced and respected. Solid waste disposal is an issue that must be dealt with. Recycling projects must be started and maintained. We need to promote ourselves as green destinations and do everything we can to be environmental models, respecting our environment and only allowing environmentally friendly economically sustainable developments while we expand and enhance community services to keep pace with growth. Each of the trade shows should have a booth that is only for San Pedro and Caye Caulker and should have extensive information about both. This booth should always be staffed by residents of San Pedro and Caye Caulker as they can best represent us. I would think this strategy could be effective for other destinations as well.

The current BTB strategy is not working. It is also vey important that the government realize that over-night tourism is the number one life-blood of our industry. It would seem that cruise tourism as received much more attention from the government due primarily to lobbying and the correct balance should place more emphasis on promoting ecologically sound over-night tourism rather than cruise tourism. These proposals can and should be enacted immediately by the government.

Considering the huge impact the tourism industry has on foreign exchange and the economy in general I believe that Tour Operators and Off-shore Hotels should be exempted from paying duties on fuel that is purchased for their businesses. The cane farmers are all allowed to purchase duty free fuel. This has been the case since 1994 I believe. I think we are entitled to the same benefits as are afforded the cane farmers considering our contribution to the general economy. This could be enacted immediately and would have a very positive effect. The additional cost burden to businesses that was created by zero rating fuel while not dropping the price has affected many of our tourism businesses in a negative way. Duty free status and GST changes could be accomplished immediately and would certainly help the current situation.

We are also impacted negatively by not being recognized as a separate District of Belize. Our dependence on Belize City and Belmopan is an economic drain on both us and the government as they attempt to supply services from long distance and we make repeated frustrating trips to Belize and Belmopan for services which are more economically supplied in San Pedro. A Supreme Court is needed as well as a professionally staffed D.O.E. office and all the other services we don't have including a Ministry of Works. Becoming a separate District was promised by Mr. Barrow during the last campaign but has never materialized. We need this to happen as part of our economic recovery program as it will cut our costs. The government could and should immediately start this process as they promised.

Additionally all constituencies should receive a proportional share of funds and projects available from the government. The money should be shared among the people in a fair way as opposed to the money being doled out politically. This is the root of many of our problems as the parties make promises they don't keep in return for your vote. It is the chief weapon in the politics of fear. You feel you should vote for a particular party or you will get nothing and in the end you get nothing anyway. Our past two Reps have been successful in getting us palapas and playground equipment but have not addressed our roads, schools or medical facilities and they have had ample opportunity. By law we should be entitled to those things considering our input to the national economy and we should not be dependent on party politics to give us what we should be entitled to by natural law. These are things I will fight for as area rep if you will elect me.

As the population continues to grow it becomes obvious that we must develop the north of the Island. It has long been recognized that the interior of the island in the Basil Jones area is an excellent place for a new community to spring up. There has been a landing area there for many years and the land is higher and more protected from storms and not as environmentally sensitive as the low lying lands of San Pedro which must be reaching its carrying capacity sometime in the near future. A new community would relieve pressure for lots and would provide an area that is more suitable to golf courses and other types of larger developments, an International airport would certainly be worth considering. First priority is to provide a properly engineered road to the north so that development can begin in an orderly and environmentally friendly manner.

If you will elect me to be your Representative these items will form the basis for my plan to revitalize our economy and make it more sustainable and resistant to global fluctuations.



William (Mike) Campbell BRS

Either Mike's bird Tina's brain came up with those ideas, or somebody inhaling something other than the fresh sea air.

LOL.....gott'a love it.

I do notice that Mike is thinking for Ambergris Caye and not for any party. "Ambergris Caye, the 7th District" was high on the agenda 3 years ago, and both Said Musa and Dean Barrow supported it. Nobody talks about it now any more. An Ambergris Caye marketing initiative for tourism was high on my personal agenda 3 years ago, but none of the local groups picked it up; we are too divided here. Remember that the reason why Ambergris Caye became a tourist destination was because the local businesses started promoting San Pedro in the 70's, long before anyone else did in Belize.
Just my 2 cents for what it's worth.
Short

Before you can find solutions, you must first correctly identify the problems. The tourist industry in Belize is not in decline according to statistics. There are more tourists visiting Belize each year. If the tourist industry in San Pedro, AC is not doing well, there are reasons for this.
When AC decided to aggressively promote tourism in order to attract more jobs and opportunities for its residents, it did not take into consideration the prior and ongoing investments required. The bringing of more people and the population increase that accompanied these efforts put a demand on services like reliable and consistent water and electricity, adequate garbage and sewage disposal, traffic flow and volume, roads, fire and police protection, housing, education, etc.
When you have an industry that creates a demand and you are unable to handle that demand, compounding the problem by attempting to attract additional industry defeats the purpose and further lowers the standard of living for those already living and working on the island. Not to mention that trying to attract industry to a place where the cost of living is high, there lacks resources and the cost of bring materials and supplies is high, makes for a hard sell.
There is much that needs to be done to improve the future of AC, and anyone looking to improve the lives of those living on AC would do better to focus on correcting the problems and providing the resources and infrastructure to accommodate the opportunities that already exists before looking for new ones.
If the problem is the islands inability to provide for the population that is there, bring more people by attracting more industry is not the solution. AC needs to suspend the idea that more jobs creates more prosperity and concentrate on improving the prosperity and quality of life for those already living there. If you have one viable industry that you cannot run right, adding more is not the solution.

So let's recap some of Tina's main ideas. We are going to move from tourism and develop manufacturing on the island. Then we can promote it as a mini Detroit. One of those industries will be furniture manufacturing. Visitors touring the manufacturing facilities will also be offered tours of the former rain forest where selected furniture items manufactured will be on display where there used to be trees. We will promote our unique golf course where the fairways are jungle growth and mangroves, well maybe where mangroves used to be. Then there will be our highly successful call industry in a country that has some of the worlds highest phone rates and worse service. And then, well let's just start with these ideas. I wonder if Tina lost sleep coming up with these or they came to her in a dream or some state of mind similar to a dream.