This should be taken as an outrage by the people of Belize, and especially the people of Ambergris Caye in this instance. It is an outrage that the town council would give a "sweet hart deal" to a developer that deviates from their original planing in order to provide a school that is the responsibility of government. The people of Belize, through government , have the obligation to educate the children. It is also an outrage, if these allegations are true, that the developer would turn to private donations to fund a personal commitment that he made.

Now my friend Chris has often, in the past, pointed out the fault of the Government of Belize in not funding the needs of the country especially the needs of AC based on the tax dollars AC generates. So what does the elected government of AC do? They neglect their responsibility and attempt to solve the problem by giving a sweet heart deal that deviates from the original planing that one would assume was developed in the best interests of the island and it's people.

What should be done is realizing that the Government of Belize is incapable of meeting this obligation and therefore the people of AC through their elected government should step up and solve the problem. That needs to be done by the people of AC and not by searching for funds from others. It is the people who live on AC responsibility, and the people like me who own property on AC, to meet this obligation to the children.

What I pay for property tax is ludicrous. If AC would tax the real estate value that exists on AC at a more realistic amount, their would be ample funds to pay for the needs. For those of you who are not aware of the tax structure let me give you an example. A condo that is valued at say $300US pays around $500BZ in tax. That same piece of real-estate if located anyware in the US where services were provided would pay what? Say anyware depending on location from $5000 and up for taxes. I am not suggesting that taxes need to be raised that much, but only a small increase would provide much needed funds.

Now I know all of my friends living on AC are going to come back and tell me they pay enough in taxes now through GST, import duties, etc. Well that might be, but it aint solving the problem. So quit bitching and quit sticking your hands out asking for donations and get together as a community and solve the problem.

Last edited by bywarren; 05/23/07 07:15 AM.