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They made it: in less than a year the Belize city council paved more than one hundred streets. And though there were major inconveniences for residents, things are starting to shape up now, and even the most hardened doubter would have to agree that the city is shaping up. The only problem is the other 420 streets that are in bad to terrible condition. The problem with those is that the city council has pretty much spent out the 20 million dollars it raised in a bond to pave those streets. So, to the rescue, here comes the government of Belize. Today Prime Minister Dean Barrow and Mayor Darrell Bradley outlined a plan for phase tow of the project. Here's how it will work:..

Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"The absolutely splendid job that has been done - the way this city is being transformed, these are things that obliged the central government to partner with the mayor and hic city council in trying to move things forward and so my principal purpose for being here this afternoon is to say that with respect tp phase 2 of the street concreting program that the mayor and the city council have undertaken, central government is now going to contribute 10 million dollars."

Mayor Darrell Bradley
"I've provided a map which is to my right that I keep in my office every single day and we have traced the development of Belize City in terms of the concreting project and I remember when this map was very clear and it only had one or two streets. Now it has 102 and very shortly it will have almost 140 streets when the second wave of the infrastructure project will be completed."

"That will mean and result in the fact that one in three streets would have been concreted under just a two year period. I had circulated a listing of the 35 streets that we will focus on in this second wave. The total costing of those streets are just short of 10 million dollars; I believe its 9.8 million dollars and the first wave of those streets will start in the coming days."

"In terms of timeline, I had indicated that this project will start within the coming week. The Prime Minister had indicated that he was very eager to commence at least some of the streets that BWS has already prepared and I had outlined the 6 streets that will be commence in the next week. This project will run us from next week into September of this year. We are trying to work very closely with the utility companies. We want the project to work smart. We are not building streets to build streets; we are not building parks to build parks. We are building these things so that we can transform a space and to build a community and to change lives."

"We are working in an integrated approach and we are ensuring that whatever is done has the maximum impact on the lives of people in the community. We are not perfect in how we implement projects. We are often times uncoordinated; we make a lot of mistakes. It is not a program that will solve the infrastructure needs of Belize City. People often times call and say you are doing one street, why not my street? We cannot in such a short period of time deal with everything. There will be a different city in the next 2 years. The city that my son grows up in will not be the city that I grew up in and by the time the next election rolls around we would declare that every single primary street; streets which connects people from one area or neighborhood of Belize City would have been concreted."

So, with all this talk of how many streets will be paved before the next election, one has to wonder, is the government preparing to call a snap general election. The Prime Minister brushed that off today:..

Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"Except to say to those who are amused it seems by all this infrastructure work that's taking place and are saying it must be because we will call the elections soon. Please, the next election will be the elections in 2015 - a year from now - the municipal elections, which are the only elections. We will not call a general election. We are doing this work because as we have made clear we see infrastructure as almost the be all and end all."

And while they are focusing on municipal elections, it's not going to be in the city. You might think that seeing how government is spending in the old capital. But the PM made it a point to say that other municipalities will be getting money too.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"Over the next calendar year, perhaps running a little bit into 2015, if Belize City will get 10 million dollars I don't expect that any of the other municipalities will get less than 2 - 2.5 million dollars by way of these street works. Please the 10 million dollars might seem like a lot with respect to Belize City. In terms of population, It is still the capital of the country in terms of commerce, in terms of being the media center, all that sort of thing. So I don't think anybody can quarrel with the size of the contribution especially since I am making it perfectly clear that each and every single municipality will also benefit from government's largess."

Channel 7

GOB pumps $10 million into phase two of City infrastructure project

Central government is partnering with the Belize City Council for phase two of the city's infrastructure project, which will see the continued rehabilitation and concreting of at least 40 more streets from 10 million dollars of assistance being provided by Government.

The announcement was made today at a press conference hosted by Prime Minister Dean O. Barrow and Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley.

Prime Minister Barrow said that the torrential rains have "done a number" on the streets of Belize City, and it is on that basis that the central government has allocated 10 million dollars for repair of the city.

Barrow had high praise for Mayor Bradley and the City Council for coming up "on their own with the municipal bond," which saw the beginning of the concreting of Belize City streets.

The Prime Minister said that if Belize City will get $10 million, then the other municipalities will get something in the region of $2 million dollars each for rehabilitation of their streets.

Corozal, Benque, Belmopan and the other municipalities will also be beneficiaries of the infrastructure projects being funded by central government, Barrow explained.

"I don't think anybody can quarrel with the size of the contribution to Belize City, because each and every single municipality will also benefit from Government's largesse," Barrow said.

Barrow said he asked Mayor Bradley what he will do about the earthen streets, since he is getting the $10 million to construct more concrete streets, and he said the mayor assured him that he will set aside the funds of a $2 million loan to address those streets.

"I was privileged to see the mayor's balance sheet and know that he can service that $2 million loan, and the central government will guarantee it", said Barrow.

He added that right now the focus is on infrastructure, pledging that his government will "ride this right through to the municipal election in 2015".

Mayor Bradley outlined the second phase of the infrastructure project, and drew attention to the countless benefits that will be generated by the infrastructure project.

Bradley said that the central government has been the trendsetter, in rolling out an aggressive development program that has been centered on infrastructural development. He pointed to the Ministry of Works' Poverty Alleviation Project that has seen the resurfacing of Collet Canal and the beginning of work on Central American Boulevard.

Bradley said that the development that residents and visitors to Belize City are seeing will continue.

"Everywhere you go in Belize City, you will see work going on; it may be by the central government or by the City Council," said the mayor, adding that "this has caused some disquiet, because it has affected traffic."

"But we cannot deny the fact that substantial work has gone on over the last two years in Belize City," he went on to note.

Bradley said the work that has been done with the municipal bond, which is now coming to a close, has seen the concreting of 102 streets.

"We had set the target of 100 streets from the $20 million municipal bond and we have met our target", he said.

After the second wave of the infrastructure project, Bradley's map that he uses to monitor the progress of the works being done will show 140 streets concreted.

One in three streets will be concreted in a short two-year period, the Mayor said. The second phase of the project will see 35 more streets concreted, at a cost of a little below $10 million, Bradley said.

The Mayor said that by the time the elections come around every primary street in Belize City that connects people from one area to another would have been concreted.

Amandala

The streets that will be paved on the Southside of Belize City are Vernon Street, South Street, Yarborough Road, Cemetery Road, West Street, King Street, George Street, Dean Street, West Canal, Regent Street West, Youth for the Future Drive, Antelope Street, Zericote Street, Raccoon Street and Gibnut Street.

The streets that will be paved on the North Side of Belize City are Saint Charles Street, Saint Mathews Street, Castle Street, Cleghorn Street, Slaughterhouse Road, Princess Margaret Drive, Saint Joseph Street, Buttonwood Bay Boulevard, Seashore Drive, Independence Street, Victoria Street, Pickstock Street, George Arthur Street, Jackfruit Crescent, Thomas Vincent Ramos Street, Fourth Street, Third Street, University Drive, Blue Marlin Drive and Bachelor Avenue.

The Guardian