The Government of Belize today signed a 30 million dollar loan with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, for the carrying out of a Municipal Development Project. This is the first project since Belize’s re-engagement with the World Bank, and will focus on key areas in the municipalities of Corozal, Orange Walk, San Ignacio/ Santa Elena, Benque Viejo, Dangriga, Punta Gorda and the City of Belmopan. This Municipal Development Project will be implemented by a unit within the Social Investment Fund and is aimed at providing capacity building within municipal bodies in key areas including revenue generation, finance, human resource and traffic management, and carrying out small-scale infrastructure projects - namely streets and drains, that were identified as priority areas during town hall consultations held in each municipality.

LOVEFM

Where is our area rep ,minister of tourism our mayor ,our councillors,they all belong to the UDP. Once again they are showing that they are a bunch of drunks ,real estate hustlers,and just plain stupid or ignorant when it comes to issues like these. The last I checked San Pedro was still a part of Belize, the streets in SP are the worst in the country yet we are not given one cent ,but as the biggest tax base for GOB we will pay for this loan while not benefiting from it .this gets shoved down our throats and not a single noise from any of them . When is the elections. We need a new party. The PUP are another bunch of padrones.

PUP just like UDP another bunch of liars,hustlers, crooks,

HA,, your streets are now the worst because we got ours fixed!
we went from the worst road to the best!!
but i whole heartedly agree,,, no matter who is in charge they are just as corrupt as the last. this latest bunch will get caught big time and then it will all blow over as all of it does.

World Bank lends GOB $30M for municipal development


The Government of Belize received a $30 million soft loan, from the World Bank, to be used for municipal developments throughout Belize on Thursday, December 2.

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Hon. Dean Barrow, signed on Belize’s behalf, and Mrs. Yvonne Tsikata, Country Director for the Caribbean at the World Bank, signed on behalf of the World Bank.

The loan comes from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; one of the branches of the World Bank. The money will be used to pay for several capacity building initiatives to be implemented within selected municipalities.

The project is designed and will be executed in two phases. The first phase shall focus on capacity-building in the communities. It will incorporate strategies that revolve around the giving of technical assistance and training in areas such as: “revenue generation, finance, human resource and traffic management”.

Alongside the capacity building phase, the project also looks at infrastructural developments. The funds will be used to “carry out small-scale infrastructure projects - namely streets and drains that were identified as priority areas during town hall consultations held in each municipality.

The Project Implementation Unit (PIU), which is a subdivision of the Social Investment Fund, will function as the executors for this project.

Ernest Raymond Sr., Project Coordinator for Belize Municipalities Development Project, explained that work has already commenced.

Raymond said that although the physical aspects of the project won’t begin until next May, the PIU has already begun with the preliminary steps. The initial stages are scheduled to be completed by April 2011.

Raymond took the opportunity to highlight the specific development plans that will be implemented in two of the municipalities.

The first is the expansion of the Town Market in Dangriga.

The second is the expansion of Toledo’s Town Council; an expansion that Raymond says will be done so as to enable the Council to achieve an improved Traffic Department.
Corozal, Orange Walk, San Ignacio/Santa Elena, Benque Viejo, Dangriga, Punta Gorda and Belmopan also have projects for development.

Belize City and San Pedro are not included in this project, but Raymond reassured that these two municipalities have not been forgotten. They will benefit under a different project that will be funded by the International Development Bank (IDB).

This Belize-World Bank initiative is the first project since Belize’s re-engagement with the Bank.

Prime Minister Hon. Dean Barrow signs the loan agreement with the World Bank's Mrs. Yvonne Tsikata.

The Reporter