The recent
government restructuring has had wide spread affects on the country of
Belize. In San Pedro, the most notable effect is the postponement of two
very needed civic improvements: the paving of Pescador Drive and the
infrastructure changes (such as channel depths, buoys, etc.) at the San
Pedro Marina.
The Pescador Drive cobblestone project has been a
joint effort between the San Pedro Town Council (SPTC), the San Pedro
Citizens Committee (SPCC) and the Government of Belize (GOB). Each entity
had it own share of responsibilities: SPTC was forwarded money to
purchase cobblestones, SPCC tendered bids for a contractor, and GOB was
to finance the project.
In Volume 14, Number 8 of The San
Pedro Sun, Mayor Elsa Paz stated that the Ministry of
Works had provided a portion of the funds budgeted to upgrade the
island's streets. Once the cobblestones were purchased by the SPTC, the
bricks would be laid by the end of March or beginning of April.
Although cobblestones were purchased by the end of
April, it was not until July
6 th, 2004, (two months
after the project was scheduled to begin) when SPCC received a media
advertisement containing an invitation asking interested contractors to
send in their bids. After that, the Ministry of Works handled the bidding
and hired a company to carry out the project. According to Chief Engineer
Cadet Henderson of the Ministry of Works, many projects have been put on
hold waiting for the Ministry of Finance to release funds, but the money
for the Pescador Drive project should available in two months.
It appears that the same story is being told regarding
the improvements to the San Pedro Marina. At the official inauguration of
the Marina on October
31 st, 2003, it was
announced that the installation of proper lighting was needed to complete
the project (scheduled to be finished by November 2003). On May
31st, 2004, the SPTC
issued letters to all barge owners requesting them to move their barges
to the San Pedro Marina by June
15th. When the barges
owners attempted to enter the channel to the marina though, they found
serious difficulties, which resulted in damage to their equipment. A
letter was written to the Ministry of Works and the Belize Ports
Authority requesting improvements be made to the marina before any other
attempts to enter the channel be made.
Soon after, The San Pedro
Sun spoke to Ports Commissioner Major Lloyd Jones who
agreed with these changes. He stated that in order to make these
improvements, authorization and further financial assistance was required
from the Ministry of Finance, so a meeting was held. However, due to
reshuffling in the Government of Belize on August
18th, 2004, another
meeting had to be scheduled with the new Minister of Finance and his
Ministers of State prior to getting approval.
On the "up side," resurfacing of the Caye Caulker
Airstrip should be underway soon.
On the "down side," San Pedro residents and visitors
will need to "bite the bullet" and put up with heavy equipment and
potholes.
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