Mayor says U.D.P. victory will help municipalities

Like every other municipal body in Belize, the Belize City Council is made up of elected representatives of the United Democratic Party. Following the party’s landslide victory in last week’s general elections, today Mayor Moya, who is also President of the Belize Mayors Association, told us that with the U.D.P. in central government, conditions in the municipalities should improve substantially. According to Moya, mayors from all over the country will now liaise with ministers in order to address priority areas, like the management of traffic.

Zenaida Moya, Belize City Mayor
“Belize City Council manages its traffic in Belize City. The other municipalities don’t have that so I’ve heard that there’s already a proactive approach by the Government of Belize to ensure that the other municipalities, they themselves become autonomous and to a level whereby they can provide more services.”

Janelle Chanona
“And that would ensure financial independence?”

Zenaida Moya
“Correct because see we don’t want to be dependent on central government. Yes how it works, there should be a transfer of funds to the municipal governments but if we can really look at different areas whereby we can fend for ourselves so to speak, and be able to really provide for our residents the streets, the maintenance of the streets, ensure that the garbage situation is dealt with, the beautification of the city, assistance with the homeless through not only support from the Government but by ensure that we collect the municipal taxes that we should collect in a fair and consistent manner.”

In Belize City the Traffic Department’s operations net the council around eight hundred thousand dollars annually.